DANAULT GETS HIS DUE
Centre earned new contract
You often hear NHL coaches and players talk about “playing the right way.”
It can mean a lot of different things and doesn’t really have an exact explanation. But Phillip Danault definitely plays the right way and the Canadiens rewarded the 25-year-old centre on Sunday with a new three-year contract worth US$9.25 million that comes with an annual salary-cap hit of $3.083 million.
It’s a big raise from the twoyear, US$1.825-million contract Danault completed last season with a salary-cap hit of $912,500. It’s also well deserved for a player who had filed for salary arbitration as a restricted free agent. It’s good news for Danault and the Canadiens that they were able to reach a deal before the NHL arbitration hearings — which can get ugly — begin on July 20.
Danault was limited to 52 games last season, posting 8-17-25 totals and was even in plus/minus while averaging 16:35 of ice time and winning 52.8 per cent of his faceoffs. He suffered a concussion after taking a slapshot to the head from Zdeno Chara during a game against the Boston Bruins on Jan. 13 at the Bell Centre.
The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Danault fills a valuable role as a solid two-way centre who can kill penalties, win faceoffs and also chip in offensively. Two seasons ago, Danault was thrust into the No. 1 centre role after injuries to Alex Galchenyuk and David Desharnais and played very well between Max Pacioretty and Alexander Radulov, finishing the season with 13-27-40 totals while playing in all 82 games.
“Every play starts with Phil,” Pacioretty said at the time. “He’s skating all over the ice. It’s not always going to be the play that everyone upstairs notices, but it’s going to be the one that his linemates appreciate and notice. It makes it easy on us.”
Pacioretty added: “He’s a guy that everyone wants to play with.”
If Danault is your third-line centre, you have a pretty good hockey team. Unfortunately, the Canadiens haven’t had a real No. 1 centre for a long time and it looks like they will be heading into Year 2 of the Jonathan Drouin Experiment in the No. 1 role. Danault will most likely be slotted in at No. 2, Tomas Plekanec No. 3 and Jacob de la Rose or newcomer Matthew Peca No. 4. The Canadiens have selected centres in the first round of each of the last two NHL Drafts — Ryan Poehling in 2017 and Jesperi Kotkaniemi this year. If those two players work out the way the Canadiens hope, they could eventually bump Danault down the depth chart and also learn a ton from watching him play. While the Canadiens won’t use the word “rebuild” it certainly looks like that’s exactly what they’re doing.
To put it simply, Danault is a smart hockey player with a very strong work ethic. There are reasons he was a first-round pick by the Chicago Blackhawks (26th overall) at the 2011 NHL Draft. The trade Bergevin made to get Danault from the Blackhawks in February 2016 — along with a second-round pick at this year’s draft (Russian defenceman Alexander Romanov) — in exchange for Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann was one of the best the GM has made during his six years on the job.
Bergevin now has only two restricted free agents left to deal with and they’re both on the Canadiens’ non-roster list: Mike McCarron and Kerby Rychel. After signing Danault, CapFriendly.com has the Canadiens listed with $7.8 million in salarycap space and they will probably start the season with more than that, especially if they trade Pacioretty. The Canadiens were $8 million below the cap last season when they finished 28th in the overall NHL standings.
Danault, who grew up in Victoriaville cheering for the Canadiens with Saku Koivu as his favourite player, made it clear at the end of last season that he wanted to stay in Montreal.
“I think we didn’t have enough guys hungry,” Danault said about last season. “Everybody’s got a part of it. I got my part, too. We all know it, so that’s why we’re going to be ready next year and have a better year from the start.”
The new contract is a nice early wedding present for Danault. He and longtime girlfriend, MariePierre Fortin, are getting married next weekend.
“It was kind of close to the wedding, but we’re done now,” Danault said about his new contract during a conference call Monday afternoon. “I’m really happy to be here for three more years. I love Montreal.
“I know I have another level to my game, for sure,” he added. “I’m practising a lot right now and I feel really good. I’m a versatile player, so I know I can play everywhere. It’s one of my strengths. I’m going to continue to do that and try and be even better. I want to be better offensively and defensively. I haven’t had a chance to play on the power play in Montreal yet, so that’s something I’d like to do.”
One thing is certain: Danault will continue to play the right way.