Andrej Sustr, 26, and Jake Dotchin and Slater Koekkoek, each 23, also are in the mix, but none possess the high ceiling Sergachev does, one that had Montreal general manager Marc Bergevin optimistic he would have made the Canadiens next season.
"It's a decision Tampa will have to make," Bergevin said, "but we were very comfortable to have him here in Montreal next season."
It would be fair to say Bergevin is far more comfortable with the idea of Drouin being in Montreal next season, but again, there is some risk there.
The biggest problem facing the Canadiens is the center position. Drouin, 22, played center in junior but hasn't played much of it in the NHL with the Lightning well-stocked at that position with Steven Stamkos, Tyler Johnson and, up until the 2017 NHL Trade Deadline, Valtteri Filppula.
"In Tampa, I played all over the place, left, right, center," Drouin said. "For me, it's just coming in and I've played a lot of positions. At the end of the day, I'm not going to decide where I'm going to play. Claude will."
"Claude" is Canadiens coach Claude Julien, who came to the conclusion this season that Alex Galchenyuk was not responsible enough defensively to play in the middle, an opinion shared by Bergevin. Julien had somewhat the same situation with Tyler Seguin when he was coaching the Boston Bruins, playing Seguin on the wing for the same reasons.
It took some time for Drouin to gain the trust of Lightning coach Jon Cooper because of deficiencies in his two-way game, so the thought of him proving to Julien that he can play in the middle seems like a long shot.