NHL trade rumors: 3 teams who should trade for Phillip Danault
According to the latest NHL trade rumors, the Montreal Canadiens are shopping center Phillip Danault around the league.
The Montreal Canadiens have some tough decisions to make this offseason. Their biggest decision is figuring out the future of their centers. Obviously, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Nick Suzuki aren’t going anywhere. This leaves one center spot for Max Domi and Phillip Danault. The former is an RFA and the latter has one year left on his deal. According to the latest NHL trade rumors, the Canadiens are shopping Danault.
This report is courtesy of Elliotte Friedman. During a recent interview with WGR 550, here’s what he had to say about Danault and the Canadiens.
“I think there’s a chance it could be Danault who goes instead of Domi.”
Friedman confirmed the Canadiens are open to trading either Max Domi or Danault. However, their chances of re-signing Domi have gotten a bit better over the past week. And Danault’s not too happy about his role with the Canadiens, specifically during the postseason.
During the regular season, Danault was Montreal’s top forward. Among players who appeared in at least 25 games, his 18:51 of ice time per game led all Canadiens forwards. He was also their second-most used forward at even strength per game, averaging 14:46, just four seconds behind Brendan Gallagher.
However, in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, there were some drastic changes. While he averaged 19:51 per game, his most common linemates went from Brendan Gallagher and Tomas Tatar to Artturi Lehkonen, Tatar, and Paul Byron. Suzuki and Kotkaniemi took over Danault’s more prominent offensive role and Danault turned into more of a shutdown center.
To his credit, Danault did quite well in this role and there’s a good reason why he was a serious Selke Trophy candidate. But it’s clear he wasn’t completely happy with his new role.
When asked if his role with the team would have an influence on his desire to stay in Montreal, Danault simply answered: «Yes». #Habs
— Etienne Ferland (@EtienneFerland) August 25, 2020
Quand on lui a demandé si son rôle avec l’équipe allait avoir une influence sur son désir de demeurer à Montréal, Danault a répondu: «Oui». #CH pic.twitter.com/2aj68nx33U
If the Canadiens can’t sign Danault to an extension, it wouldn’t be surprising if they trade him and re-sign Domi. With that said, let’s take a look at three teams who should express interest in him.
Honorable Mentions
I think there’s a fit with the Winnipeg Jets, but I don’t think they want to part with the pieces the Canadiens want (Nikolaj Ehlers and Patrik Laine). Nor do I believe the Habs would simply trade Danault for draft picks.
The New York Rangers could be a dark horse candidate for Danault. They need help defensively and as stated earlier, Danault was a serious Selke Trophy candidate. The Rangers could also give Danault the playing time he wants if they decide to trade Ryan Strome.
Watch out for the Buffalo Sabres too. They’ve got a huge second line center hole to fill. The Sabres will have options, but few of them are better than Danault.
3. Minnesota Wild
For years, the Minnesota Wild have been anchored down the middle by the eternally underrated Mikko Koivu. Even in his old age, he remained a defensive wizard. The Wild are prepared to move on from him, which means they’re going to need another center. Danault could make a lot of sense for them.
First of all, Koivu was the only center who took at least 160 faceoffs for the Wild this season and won over half of them. Eric Staal, Joel Eriksson Ek, Luke Kunin, and Victor Rask each won less than 50% of their faceoffs. Danault won 54.5% of his faceoffs despite taking 1,336 of them. Koivu’s been their go-to faceoff guy for years. Danault could slide into that role quite easily.
Secondly, Danault has been quite impactful defensively, much like Koivu in his prime. He had a bit of an off-year in 2018-19 and it shouldn’t be completely ignored, but looking at his career, it’s most likely a fluke.
However, there could be a bit of a holdup. The Wild’s most valuable trade chip is probably Matthew Dumba. He’s right-handed. The Canadiens already have Shea Weber and Jeff Petry on the right side. However, if the Wild are willing to trade Jonas Brodin instead, he’s left-handed and he’d make quite a bit of sense for the Canadiens.
I’m not entirely sure if the Wild would be willing to make a deal involving a first round pick or a top prospect for Danault, whose contract expires after next season. Maybe they would if an extension was involved, though.
2. Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers currently don’t have a true number two center. Aleksander Barkov anchors their top line, but after trading Vincent Trocheck at the trade deadline, they were forced to turn to Erik Haula, who’s an unrestricted free agent, and Noel Acciari, who’s better suited in a bottom-six role.
While the Montreal Canadiens probably won’t trade Danault within their own division, he would make a great deal of sense for the Panthers for several reasons.
First of all, Danault could ease the burden on Barkov. Generally regarded as a great two-way player, Barkov’s underlying stats have been declining as of late. He’s still an excellent scorer, but having someone like Danault could be a huge help.
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Secondly, Danault’s known for his defense, but he’s still a pretty effective producer as well. He won’t be winning any scoring titles, but he has at least 40 points in each of his last three full seasons. While Danault had 25 points in 52 games in 2017-18, he would have challenged for 40 points had he played all 82 games.
When the Panthers traded Trocheck, they traded a pretty consistent producer. Getting one to replace him would be a wise move for the Panthers. That said, they’ll have to take care of their own first, as they only have 10 players signed for next season.
1. Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets have finally found a franchise center in Pierre-Luc Dubois. Sure, he’s on the lower end of that tier, but this season, he proved he could put up very good numbers away from Artemi Panarin. And Dubois was simply outstanding in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Now the Blue Jackets have to find him some help. They’re reportedly going to seek some offensive help this offseason and it’s not hard to see why they want to. The Blue Jackets were among the worst scoring teams in the NHL last season. Luckily for them, their defense was top notch and they got strong goaltending. But at the end of the day, they need more offense to make a Stanley Cup run.
Danault would make so much sense for the Blue Jackets. If John Tortorella could create a perfect player in some fancy genetics lab, the end result would likely closely resemble Danault. He’s a very effective two-way center who can chip in enough offense to fill the stat sheet. With the Blue Jackets, Danault would be able to have the top-six role he’s proven he deserves.
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But again, it’s going to come down to the price. Do the Blue Jackets have what the Canadiens want? If they do, don’t be surprised if Danault winds up on the Blue Jackets.