Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin did his best to silence rumours surrounding Jonathan Drouin's future with the team on Thursday.

"I don't know where they come from," Bergevin told reporters. "Most of those reports are from somebody's basement in Toronto, so I don't pay attention to that, to be honest with you."

Drouin's future has come under speculation after he was used sparingly in two preseason games this week. He has one assist in the preseason, but Bergevin said Drouin is not the only player who's "not up to par."

"He had some good moments, but overall, we need more," Bergevin said. "He's a skill player. He has talent, he has a lot of attributes and I know last year he had a tough finish. He had a good summer. Training camp is training camp. I mean, he's not the only one who's not up to par right now. I know we're picking on Jo – or you guys are asking about Jo – but I can name you a few guys who are not up to par and that's what training camp's all about. We made some cuts today, we have two days of good practices, a good game on Saturday and then we get going."

Drouin, acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2017 for defenceman Mikhail Sergachev, scored 18 goals and posted 53 points in 81 games with the Canadiens last season.

The Canadiens placed Karl Alzner, Dale Weise, Philip Varone, Matthew Peca and Xavier Ouellet on waivers Thursday.

Montreal will open their regular season on Oct. 3 against the Carolina Hurricanes.