Montreal Canadiens: The Danault Dilemma

Inflated Offensive Numbers?

Danault has often been accused of being opportunistic. When Galchenyuk was struggling as a center in 2016, Danault was given first line duties with offensive wingers in Alexander Radulov and Max Pacioretty. He put up 40 points that season which most credited to his offensive wingers, not him. Once Pacioretty was dealt to the Vegas Golden Knights and Radulov signed in Dallas, Danault remained the first line center and had Tatar and Gallagher on his wings.

Philip Danault with Tomas Tatar and Brendan Gallagher on his flanks has become one of the better lines in the NHL. In 2020, that first line on Montreal had some of the toughest defensive assignments in the league, but still scored 58% of the goals and controlled 62% of the expected goals.

Danault gets criticized for his lack of offensive upside and awareness. He thrives at 5-on-5 and dominates possession, especially with intense play drivers in Gallagher and Tatar, but how much of his production has been inflated because of those wingers? If Danault played on the third line with Arturri Lehkonen and Joel Armia, would he come close to 40 points?

He is a good skater and handles the puck well enough but in the offensive zone, his upside seems limited. He’s often a pass first player, especially this season as only 23.3% of Danault’s shot attempts are from high danger areas. This is 12% lower than last season’s mark of 35.3%. A significantly lower Corsi shows a player who either doesn’t want to shoot, or isn’t confident enough in his shot.