No one is ever quite sure how a Bell Centre crowd will react when a former Canadiens player returns as a member of an opposing team. For some, there are jeers and boos. For others, standing ovations.
In the case of forward Jonathan Drouin, who spent the last seven years with the Canadiens before signing with the Colorado Avalanche this past summer, it was a little bit of both.
While Drouin was excited to return to his home province and former home arena on Monday, he predicted that some fans wouldn’t be happy to see him. He was right.
As his name was announced in the starting lineups, the Bell Centre erupted in a series of simultaneous cheers and boos.
mixed reactions for jo drouin returnš pic.twitter.com/cZIEzyWvSl
— trista (@tristaboldy) January 16, 2024
The latter ultimately won out when play started as the 28-year-old was given the old Bronx cheer every time he touched the puck.
But rather than letting the negativity get to him, Drouin seemed to use it as fuel, logging an assist on a Ross Colton powerplay goal early in the first period.
The tide turned once again when the Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts was shown on the jumbotron during a commercial break. Both the home and away bench, along with a fair number of fans, actually got up to applaud Drouin during his video tribute.
Drouin received an ovation after the Habs showed a tribute video during the commercial. pic.twitter.com/FfNGFPlfgs
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) January 16, 2024
Talk about a tough crowd…
Before the game, Drouin told reporters he was expecting a mixed reaction from Habs fans.
“I don’t really control that stuff, how the fans react to me coming back. But I loved my time in Montreal and I’m excited for this game,” he said when asked what kind of reaction he expected.
“I didn’t mind my first three years. Then it obviously went downhill with that first wrist injury,” he added. “Anxiety came, a lot of stuff came towards me and I had to take a step back.”
With some tough seasons behind him, Drouin is hitting his stride now. Finding chemistry with former Junior linemate Nathan MacKinnon, he has 16 points in his last 15 games.
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