Jonathan Drouin, Jon Cooper repaired relationship over breakfast

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Jonathan Drouin repaired his relationship with head coach Jon Cooper over some breakfast.

The redemption story of Jonathan Drouin has been a very remarkable one. Back in November, he expressed frustration with the way the Lightning were handling him. In January, his agent requested a trade and stated Drouin would never play for the Lightning again. It got even worse when Drouin refused to show up to an AHL game.

But after an injury to Steven Stamkos, Drouin and head coach Jon Cooper put their issues behind them. However, they addressed these issues just before an April game against the Montreal Canadiens. Over a breakfast, the two repaired what once was a broken relationship.

“We probably said some things to each other that we’d thought about but had never said,” Cooper said. “I told him this was my thought: ‘This is what I believed when I was doing things, but now, listening to you, maybe there were some things I shouldn’t have done. Now that I look back, maybe I was wrong.’ And vice versa.”

It’s quite amazing how quickly they were able to repair their relationship. Both sides are clearly happy. Drouin wound up being one of their best players in the playoffs. His 14 points in the postseason tied him for third on the team with star defenseman Victor Hedman.

In hockey, it’s rare to see a coach and a player both be willing to admit their faults. But Cooper’s boldness and Drouin’s willingness to accept responsibility helped fix something broken. It teaches us a valuable lesson – you should never be too busy to have some breakfast with a friend. You never know what you might be able to accomplish. If the relationship between Cooper and Drouin can be fixed, anything can be.