The Montreal Canadiens continue to shake all the branches on the NHL’s trade market, including former Hab Philip Danault.
According to multiple reports, the Los Angeles Kings are interested in trading the centre, and the Habs are among the teams that have discussed the potential cost of acquisition.
Of course, as per usual, we must take the reports with a grain of salt. There’s no doubt the Canadiens have inquired about the possibility of trading for Danault, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re intent on making a trade. Kent Hughes and Co. have an established track record when it comes to players added to the trade market. Most of the time, they’re simply performing due diligence, one of the most important responsibilities for a general manager.
With that in mind, let’s discuss whether Danault’s homecoming would be a fit with the current lineup.
Canadiens Trade Rumours: Danault And The Kings
Danault has two years left on a contract that carries a $5.5 million annual average value (AAV), while also offering the player a 10-team no-trade clause.
Seeing as the Canadiens have ample cap space in the upcoming seasons, they could make things work, but the best way forward would be to accumulate as much cap space as possible up to the trade deadline, thus maximizing their financial manoeuvrability.
The biggest sticking point is that Danault is far from the player who left the Canadiens and decided to sign with the Kings in 2021.
He’s scored no goals in 30 games, while only providing five assists, a complete collapse in his ability to drive offence, which was already limited to begin with.
To make matters worse, he’s no longer the defensive ace that anchored one of Montreal’s most dominant lines, alongside Brendan Gallagher and Tomas Tatar. Relative to his teammates, while Danault is on the ice, the Kings allow more goals, and score fewer. Consequently, he currently has the fourth-worst relative xGF% among all Kings forwards (-5.1).
However, given the Canadiens lack any semblance of depth at centre, Danault’s faceoff prowess could interest a coach like Martin St-Louis, who puts an onus on faceoff percentages rather than a player’s ability to drive the play.
Danault wins roughly 53 percent of his faceoffs, which is a better efficiency than every Canadiens forward, except for Jake Evans.
If there’s a deal to be made, the Canadiens would likely want to send a player such as Brendan Gallagher or Josh Anderson in return, as they’re also struggling to produce in their veteran years, and it would alleviate some of the salary cap concerns as well.
But if we’re being perfectly honest and put nostalgia aside, in the grand scheme of things, there’s very little that Danault can provide to the Canadiens at this stage of his career.
