Montreal Canadiens: Phillip Danault at 100% is critical for next season

Of all the Montreal Canadiens who need to return to full form next season, Phillip Danault is up there on the list of importance.

If you look at most season reviews for the Montreal Canadiens, many hinge on the health of Carey Price and Shea Weber to have success. It makes sense for that to be a common point. Weber is the cornerstone of the Habs defence corps and him not being fully healthy hurt the team through and through.

Additionally, it doesn’t take an advanced analyst to say that Price was nowhere near where he could be. No team can have success without good goaltending, and the Montreal Canadiens wore the goat horns on that front. The defensive play still stands out as even on the nights where Price, Charlie Lindgren, or Antti Niemi gave the team a chance to win, they still lost.

Another name that needs to come back fully ready to go is Phillip Danault. We all remember the terrifying event that had the 25-year-old taken out of the lineup for a large chunk of the season. Danault returned to the lineup briefly after his concussion-like symptoms seemed to be taken care of, but neck tightness took him out again.

There were plenty of videos of Danult skating on his own near the end of the season, so it looks like he’s taking the proper steps to get back to 100%.

Related Story: Extending Danault is Priority Number One

It’ll be important that happens. Not knowing how or if Jonathan Drouin improves, Danault is currently the only top-six centre the Montreal Canadiens have (and some would even argue that).

You may bring up Alex Galchenyuk here, but Marc Bergevin has made it clear time and time again that the closest he will get to playing centre ice is taking a faceoff if a teammate is waved out of the circle.

Danault had a similar points/game total as last year (0.48 this season vs. 0.49 last season), but there’s a chance more can come from him. His defensive play and capabilities on the penalty kill is also something that can’t be discounted. Perhaps he takes another step in the right direction with a revamped coaching staff who will hopefully add more structure to the team’s play.

The Habs still have holes in their centre depth. Unless Bergevin makes some acquisitions over the summer, those holes will remain where they are. Preparing for the worst case scenario, if no new personnel is added, involves having Danult back and ready to go.

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