Phillip Danault is a key piece for the Montreal Canadiens moving forward

The Montreal Canadiens cannot afford to lose Phillip Danault as he enters the final year of his deal. Not resigning him would be a big mistake.

After being poached from the Chicago Blackhawks in 2016, Phillip Danault has grown into his own with the Montreal Canadiens. Marc Bergevin pulled off one of his biggest heists when acquiring Danault, giving up Thomas Fleischmann and Dale Weise for Danault and a second-round pick that turned into highly sought after prospect Alexander Romanov.

Five years on from the trade, Danault has worked his way into the number one center role for the Canadiens and grown into a premier 200-foot forward in the league. The 27-year old Quebec native is now a crucial part of the Canadiens’ lineup, an asset that Marc Bergevin and the Habs can’t afford to lose.

With all the offseason moves made by Montreal, they are tight against the salary cap. Going into the last year of a team-friendly 3-year $9 million deal, Danault is due for a significant pay raise. The Canadiens’ brass would need to shed salary in order to accommodate Danault and his contract needs, but in doing so would put the Habs in a position to succeed, especially down the middle. Not making the room to re-sign Danault would be a colossal mistake. The man is worth every penny, and here is why.

Defensive Play

Phillip Danault’s defensive presence as a centerman is one thing that makes him so valuable. He is mostly deployed between Brendan Gallagher and Tomas Tatar against the number one line of the opposing team. As a shut-down center, Danault has risen from 15 minutes per night in his rookie season with the Blackhawks to almost 20 minutes per night with the Habs in the 2019-20 season.

Not only are those big minutes, but they are also hard minutes against the league’s best. Danault always seems to be on the right side of the puck and has played an important role in minimizing the high danger scoring chances that get through to Carey Price. Centermen that play a defensively sound game are at a premium in the NHL, and Danault has shown he can compete with the best of them. His defensive presence shutting down the top units for the opposition allows for his linemates and second and third line teammates to be more offensively minded.

A defensive pivot that can also add scoring has proven to be a successful strategy. The Stanley Cup winners for the past few years, St.Louis, Washington, Pittsburgh, and Chicago, have all had a reliable defensive center in their lineup. Resigning Danualt adds to the recipe for success the Canadiens are trying to implement into their own push for a Stanley Cup. Danault is the type of player teams are always looking for.

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Face-offs

Another factor that may be overlooked when referring to Phillip Danault’s value is just how many face-offs he takes per game and the significance of those face-offs. During the 2019-20 season, Danault led the Canadiens, taking an average of 18.8 faceoffs per game. His nearest competition was Nate Thompson at 11.6 and Max Domi at 11.1, respectively.

With Thompson shipped out at the deadline and Domi taking on a lesser role, Danault’s responsibility skyrocketed in the playoffs.  Danault averaged 22.4 face-offs per game, followed by young star Nick Suzuki at 17.9. But what really stands out is the number of face-offs per game in the defensive zone. Danault averaged 13.3 while his nearest competitor was Suzuki at 6.6, showing that Danault was deployed for most if not all of the important defensive zone draws.

Danault had a team-high 54.5% faceoff percentage in the regular season and a 54% faceoff percentage in the playoffs.  He was very good in the faceoff dot against some notable opponents, winning 83.3% of his draws against Philadelphia’s Kevin Hayes, 64.7% against Pittsburgh Penguin’s all-star Sidney Crosby, and 54.2% against Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux.

Mentorship and Depth 

As of right now, Phillip Danault is the oldest center the Canadiens have on their roster. He is followed by  Nick Suzuki (21) ,Jesperi Kotkaniemi (20), Ryan Poehling (21), and Jake Evans (24), all very young players that require the guidance of a veteran. Danault is a perfect role model for those younger players to look up to and provides leadership as they continue developing.

If Danault was out of the lineup, it would leave a very young and inexperienced group of players down the middle for the Canadiens. Danault may be able to be replaced via. trade, but players of his 2-way stature are hard to come by, especially in today’s COVID trade market. Without Danault in the lineup, depth and maturity would be lacking among the center core.

This is where things get a little bit interesting, as Danault fell behind Suzuki and Kotkanimi in the 2019-20 playoffs and became the Canadiens’ checking line center between Paul Byron and Artturi Lehkonen. Danault was relied on heavily for his defensive skills, not for his usual combo of offensive output and reliable defensive abilities between Gallagher and Tatar.

When asked about his newly acquired role, Danault had this to say: “I don’t think I’m ready to accept that, I like producing offensively, and I know I can reach another level on offense. I don’t know if I want to limit myself to a strictly defensive role. I don’t think I can improve with strictly defensive assignments.” (The Score)

Where Danault will fit into the lineup, next season is yet to be known, but assuring he is comfortable in his role will be on Claude Julien and the coaching staff.

Without Danault in the lineup, the Canadiens would lack leadership down the middle, depth, and that all-important 200-foot defensive player that can shut down the opposition’s top lines and take face-offs. Suzuki may develop into that type of player sooner rather than later, but still needs time to develop.

Failing to re-sign Phillip Danault would most definitely haunt the Habs for years to come. Locking up the potential future Selke winner is priority number one for Montreal, as Danault brings more to the lineup than is seen on paper.