NHL trade rumors: 3 teams who should trade for Phillip Danault

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.

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.