Chantal is a RDS double-agent
Hughes should do it to send a message. It's a no-loss move -- early in the season, no expectations, Drouin's had many chances, and he's having a mediocre camp. Hughes can have MSL say it was his decision. It would be drawing a line in the sand... unfortunately as stated above, we have an invisible anchor tied around our necks and need to accommodate a few thousand non-fans.
Hughes should neither target Drouin more than others on purpose "to send a message", nor should he refrain from doing so if Drouin's camp is very disappointing and worse than other forwards with big contracts.
Alternatives matter. If David Savard gets waived at age 32 with three years left at $3.5M, because all four of Guhle, Harris, Barron and Xhekaj play lights out, while Wideman, Matheson and Schueneman outperform him too, people will understand.
But if Drouin is waived at age 27 while Hoffman, Monahan, or Armia stink but are kept, there will be criticism if it looks like the move was purposely done for political reasons.
One more thing: I would prioritize waiving a guy with multiple years left over someone with just this year left, if it is close between them. Hoffman will be 34 at the end of his contract, and Armia 32. They are more likely to decline than Jo and still have term, so they are much more likely to clear waivers, whereas if Drouin or Monahan are lost on waivers, we MAY be losing out on a TDL return of some sort.