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Phillip Danault

Free Agent Focus: Montreal Canadiens

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Free agency is now just under a month away and many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in late July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. The Montreal Canadiens come bitterly into the offseason after a Stanley Cup Final loss, but a large amount of unrestricted free agents mean it’s a pivotal time for the franchise.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Artturi Lehkonen – An up-and-down season ended strongly for the first Finnish Canadiens RFA. While in part due to the shortened season, Lehkonen had his worst offensive season to date, failing to post either 10 goals or 20 points for the first time in his five-year NHL career. He didn’t fare too well under either Claude Julien or Dominique Ducharme, at least in the regular season. It resulted in the lowest usage of his career, being played just 13:25 minutes per game. However, when the opportunity arose during their playoff run, Lehkonen rose to the challenge. Taking the left-wing spot with Phillip Danault and Brendan Gallagher, Lehkonen helped formed a line that shut down opponents’ top players for the majority of the playoffs. He added an overtime series winner to boot, as one of his three playoff goals sent Montreal to the Stanley Cup Final. Yet the reality stands that Lehkonen was inconsistent at best overall this season, and his next deal will likely reflect that. A shorter-term deal should be expected for a depth player like Lehkonen.

F Jesperi Kotkaniemi – It’s hard to know what to make of Montreal’s 2018 top draft pick at this stage in his career. Coming off of his entry-level deal, Kotkaniemi has broken expectations during each of his playoffs runs, totaling nine goals and 12 points in 29 games. Yet Kotkaniemi didn’t even score that amount in a full 56-game campaign this year, potting only five goals. While the young Finnish center has oozed potential during Montreal’s playoff appearances, he hasn’t been able to perform at the same level over the course of his regular seasons. With all that being said, it’s extremely unlikely that general manager Marc Bergevin commits to Kotkaniemi long-term this offseason. At just 21 years old, Kotkaniemi still has four more seasons of RFA eligibility. It’s impossible to imagine that Montreal would give him a deal longer than that, instead allowing Kotkaniemi to live up to his potential over the course of a lower-stakes bridge deal.

Other RFAs: F Joseph Blandisi, F Michael Pezzetta, F Ryan Poehling, F Jacob Lucchini, D Otto Leskinen, D Cale Fleury, G Michael McNiven

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Phillip Danault – Danault had largely been regarded as one of the more underrated defensive centers in the NHL over the past few seasons. That’s no longer the case. Danault’s shot-suppressing expertise was on full display throughout the regular season and playoffs. And while his offense took a backseat in the playoffs with just one goal and four points in 22 contests, he’s scored 124 points in 205 games over his past three seasons. The offense will come back next season if history is any indicator. It’s why Danault is expected to get a significant raise on his $3.083MM cap hit. With Danault possibly receiving offers over $5MM and even $6MM on the open market, Montreal will have to shell out the cash to retain their Quebec-born top-six center.

F Tomas Tatar – Montreal’s usage of Tatar this season, especially in the playoffs, was puzzling to many. It was just last year where Tatar had emerged to lead the Habs in scoring with 61 points in just 68 games. While Tatar was limited to just 30 points in 50 games this year, his line with Danault and Gallagher had performed extremely well from a possession standpoint. Even through the beginning of their first-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tatar’s line had succeeded at silencing Toronto’s top talent. Yet Tatar soon found himself scratched for the rest of the playoff run, with Lehkonen taking his role on that line. It’s hard to expect that Montreal will want to retain Tatar at this point, especially with outside teams knowing what they can get out of him. Expect Tatar to be in a top-six role again next season — just not with Montreal.

Other UFAs: F Corey Perry, F Joel Armia, F Eric Staal, F Michael Frolik, F Jordan Weal, F Alex Belzile, D Jonathon Merrill, D Erik Gustafsson, D Gustav Olofsson, G Charlie Lindgren

Projected Cap Space

While Montreal sits with a respectable $14.7MM in cap space, the team has a lot of expiring talent. Retaining the expected pieces and building on this roster’s weaknesses will likely bring Bergevin and Montreal into a tricky dance with the salary cap yet again next season. And while no drastic moves are expected from this year’s Stanley Cup finalist, it might be challenging for Montreal to navigate the free-agent waters after they’ve re-signed key pieces. However, Montreal’s camaraderie and team strength were on full display this season. It’s the type of performance that incentivizes players to take pay cuts to play for a winner, something that may very well be a reality for Montreal this offseason.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

North Notes: Tkachuk, Batherson, Sandin, Oilers, Danault

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Senators winger Brady Tkachuk is leaning towards declining an invitation to play for Team USA at the upcoming World Championships, suggests Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch.  While he would undoubtedly be a key player for them, he is a pending restricted free agent, something that he acknowledged could be a factor in him taking a pass if he goes that route:

I haven’t made a full decision yet but it’s always an honour to represent your country and play for the guys who paved the way and USA Hockey. We’ll have to see but it’s definitely a different set of circumstances here, especially with the things going on this summer.

Tkachuk isn’t the only one leaning towards taking a pass for that reason either as Garrioch adds that winger Drake Batherson is doubtful to suit up for Canada with his restricted free agency on the horizon.  While Tkachuk is expected to land a substantial raise this summer no matter what, Batherson’s case is a bit murkier as while he has played well this year with 33 points in 53 games, it’s his only full NHL season thus far.

More from the North Division:

  • Maple Leafs defenseman Rasmus Sandin isn’t expected to play in Toronto’s remaining three games for salary cap reasons, notes Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. By moving him back to the taxi squad, they would create enough cap room in order to activate Riley Nash from LTIR, allowing him to potentially get a game or two in before the end of the regular season to get him ready for the playoffs.  Nash was ruled out for the rest of the year while in Columbus but Toronto’s schedule runs nearly a week longer as a result of the COVID-related postponements.
  • While the Oilers look to be set in second place in the North, don’t expect them to rest anyone down the stretch, relays Postmedia’s Rob Tychkowski. Instead, head coach Dave Tippett wants to try to create some momentum over their final four games, something that could be more difficult with players rotating in and out of the lineup.
  • Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme told reporters today, including Sportsnet’s Eric Engels (Twitter link), that center Phillip Danault has been diagnosed with a concussion. He had previously been listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury.  He had already been ruled out for tonight’s game against Toronto but with that diagnosis, he will likely miss the final two games against Edmonton as well.

Canadiens Update Injury Status For Several Players

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As Montreal looks to secure a playoff spot in the North Division, they’re doing so without several of their more prominent veterans who are out of the lineup with various injuries.  The team announced updates on the majority of those players and it appears as if most of them could be back for the postseason.

Goaltender Carey Price has resumed skating as he works his way back from a concussion suffered last month against Edmonton but there remains no timetable for his return.  In the meantime, Jake Allen will continue to shoulder the majority of the workload between the pipes.

Winger Brendan Gallagher has also resumed skating and remains on pace to return within the six-week timeframe listed a month ago when he was diagnosed with a thumb injury.  With the North Division schedule being extended due to their and Vancouver’s COVID-pauses, that could give Gallagher an opportunity to return at the start of the playoffs.  Meanwhile, Paul Byron has missed the last two weeks with a lower-body injury.  He remains considered as day-to-day but the team did not indicate that he has resumed skating yet.

Defenseman Shea Weber has missed five straight games with an upper-body injury but has resumed skating and is also listed as day-to-day.

Joining that group of players in the infirmary is center Phillip Danault.  He left Thursday’s game against Toronto in the first period due to an upper-body injury.  He has returned to Montreal for evaluation and as a result, he will not be available for the rematch against the Maple Leafs on Saturday.  Arpon Basu of The Athletic clarifies (Twitter link) that Danault travelled by a car service, allowing him to remain in the bubble and not be subject to a seven-day quarantine to rejoin the team.  If Montreal wants to dress 12 forwards tomorrow, they will have to use an emergency recall on either Michael Frolik or Alex Belzile who are the only two healthy forwards on their taxi squad, a group that also consists of three other injured forwards from the AHL.

The Canadiens are also without winger Jonathan Drouin who was placed on LTIR late last month after taking a leave of absence for personal reasons.  There remains no update on his situation with the team at the time of the announcement asking everyone to respect his privacy.

While it certainly sounds as if some of their veterans should be ready to play if they can make it, there won’t be any immediate help on the horizon as they look to officially clinch a spot in the playoffs.

Snapshots: Danault, Simek, Frk

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Montreal Canadiens center Phillip Danault has struggled this season as he is one of just two forwards who have yet to record a goal this season. The 27-year-old is coming off of 53 and 47-point seasons that last two years, but the pending unrestricted free agent reportedly turned down a six-year, $30MM deal during the offseason, according to Montreal Gazette’s Stu Cowan, and it looks to be weighing on him.

Danault refused to talk about his contract situation Friday, but Cowan said that ice time might play more of a role in his decision-making than money. Danault, who was playing top-six minutes for much of the past two seasons, is now the team’s No. 3 center behind Nick Suzuki and Jesperi Kotkaniemi.

“I needed some time to adapt,” Danault said. “There are a lot of things that changed at the same time, whether it was my ice time or the way I was being used on the penalty-kill. I’m still playing with the same linemates, though. We try to give everything we have every night. I’m ready to do everything I can to help the team win. It’s going really well right now and we’ll keep on going that way.”

  • NHL Player Safety announced that San Jose Sharks defenseman Radim Simek has been fined $5,000 for spearing Anaheim Ducks forward Adam Henrique Saturday (video here). The fine is the most that is allowed by the CBA.The infraction occurred at 6:21 of the second period when the spearing occurred in front of the Sharks’ net. The two players then fought immediately afterwards with both players receiving two-minute penalties for roughing with the spearing getting missed.
  • The Los Angeles Kings could be without forward Martin Frk for some time, according to Los Angeles Times’ Jack Harris. While he hasn’t received an update from the team’s training staff, head coach Todd McLellan said that by the look of the injury, he could be “out for a little while.” Frk missed the first nine games of the season with a groin injury and was making his season debut Friday only to be knocked out with another  lower-body injury.

North Notes: Danault, Benn, Dube

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Canadiens center Phillip Danault is slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and while it was previously reported that there wasn’t much news on the contract front, Mathias Brunet of La Presse reports that the team did reach out with a long-term offer back in September.  The proposal they were believed to have tabled was a six-year, $30MM pact, a $5MM AAV which would have represented a notable raise on his current $3.083MM AAV.  Brunet notes the offer wasn’t countered with his agent, former NHL goaltender Stephane Fiset, declining to comment.

Danault has quietly emerged as one of the better two-way centers in the league, putting up 100 points over the past two seasons while finishing no lower than seventh in Selke Trophy voting both times.  As things stand, he’s set to be one of the better middlemen available in free agency and even in a softer marketplace, he could still beat that offer.  Whether the Canadiens can afford to with now nearly $66MM in commitments for 2021-22 remains to be seen.

More from the North Division:

  • Canucks defenseman Jordie Benn has been cleared to play, notes Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston. He has yet to play this season after testing positive for COVID-19 and will be a welcome addition to a team that is banged up on the back end.  The 33-year-old played in just 44 games last season, logging a little over 16 minutes per night but may immediately be called on to play more than that given their current situation.
  • The Flames are hoping to have winger Dillon Dube available for their next game on Sunday against Toronto, relays Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson. Dube is dealing with a lower-body issue sustained on Monday against Vancouver and while he left that game, they haven’t played since.  He has spent some time in Calgary’s top six already this season so getting him back without him missing technically even a single game would certainly be a positive.

No Talks Between Montreal Canadiens, Phillip Danault

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The Montreal Canadiens have done quite a bit of work this offseason, reshaping their roster while also locking up a couple of their core pieces. Tyler Toffoli, Josh Anderson, Joel Edmundson, and Jake Allen will provide a new look for the team next season, while Brendan Gallagher and Jeff Petry were both given expensive, long-term extensions. One other name that some have hoped would earn an extension is Phillip Danault, who is heading into the final season of his three-year, $9.25MM deal and coming off another strong two-way performance.

Danault, 27, will likely never be a 30-goal scorer or top offensive producer at the NHL level, but has provided quite a bit of value for the Canadiens in other ways. Finishing seventh in Selke voting in 2019 and sixth this past year, he has also managed to record 165 points in 286 games over the last four seasons. One of the best faceoff men in the league, an excellent penalty killer, and a strong role model for the Canadiens younger centers, a long-term extension could be a good fit for both sides.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear as though those talks have happened yet. Danault spoke with reporters today including Eric Engels of Sportsnet and told them “at this point, there’s no negotiations” going on regarding his next contract. Of course, it’s not even clear if he wants to stay in Montreal given the fact that his role may eventually be reduced, with the emergence of Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Nick Suzuki. After the Canadiens were eliminated from the 2020 postseason—where coincidentally Kotkaniemi and Suzuki both played well and outscored Danault—he told reporters that he doesn’t necessarily want to be relegated to a purely defensive role on the team and believes he has even more offensive ability to contribute.

For the Canadiens, having Danault as a third-line option would be a luxury, one perhaps they’re not willing to pay for. The team traded away Max Domi this offseason because there wasn’t a clear fit for him down the middle and he was going to need a big raise. A similar departure may happen to Danault if the team believes there isn’t a financial match for the role they want him to play.

There is good reason to believe other teams would be willing to give him that increased opportunity though, even if his career-high of 13 goals isn’t very impressive. Strong possession numbers and solid production at even-strength—just 12 of Danault’s 175 career points have come on the powerplay—are exactly what many are looking for down the middle.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Atlantic Notes: Chara, Maple Leafs, Danault

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With a big four-year extension for Boston Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, the Bruins continue to work on their defense after the departure of Torey Krug. Of course, much of that work relies on a decision by veteran Zdeno Chara, who is still considering what he is going to do for the 2020-21 season.

Boston Hockey Now’s Joe Haggerty writes that Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said that the team can do nothing, but wait to hear from Chara about what his offseason plans are.

“We have communicated consistently with Zdeno and [his agent] Matt Keator,” said Sweeney. “We’re just waiting for him to initiate what he’d like to do moving forward. I feel very comfortable allowing [the decision-making process] to take the necessary time and let Zdeno make his own decisions along that route.”

Of course, Keator did say that Chara has received multiple inquiries from other teams and the veteran is considering all options, according to The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa (subscription required), which isn’t good for Boston who will need the 6-foot-9, 250-pounder to help stabilize their defense after losing Krug to St. Louis more than a week ago and lack the financial abilities to bring in a solid replacement.

  • In a conference call with reporters as well as NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger, Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas said that he doesn’t foresee the team making any more roster moves, which includes adding more players or having to move a player out. The GM said the Maple Leafs will now focus on signing their own restricted free agents with next week’s arbitration case of Ilya Mikheyev on tap next, followed by focusing on working out a deal with defenseman Travis Dermott.
  • The Athletic’s Arpon Basu (subscription required) writes that Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin has now signed defenseman Jeff Petry and forward Brendan Gallagher to long-term deals. He also managed to swap forwards Max Domi and Josh Anderson, signing the latter to long-term deal as well. When asked what his next task would be, Bergevin replied that he was thinking about going on vacation, sounding like his work this offseason is finished. Basu writes that can’t be good news for center Phillip Danault, who is on his last year of a three-year, $9.25MM contract and has said he would like to stay long-term as long as his role on the team is guaranteed. The 27-year-old has posted 25 goals and 100 points combined over the last two seasons, but with young centers Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Nick Suzuki ready to step into more significant roles in the near future, there may not be a big role remaining for Danault.

Snapshots: Rochester, Dubnyk, Danault

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The Rochester Americans have added a new pair of assistant coaches, and Buffalo Sabres fans will certainly be familiar with them. Mike Weber and Adam Mair, who suited up for a combined 839 regular season games for the Sabres in their playing careers, will join Seth Appert’s staff in the AHL this season.

Mair is moving over from the development side with the Sabres where he has served for the past five years, while Weber is making the jump to pro coaching from the OHL. Appert, who will be coaching a pro team for the first time, has decades of experience at the collegiate level and with the USNTDP.

  • Devan Dubyk’s name has come up lately in the rumor mill, as the Minnesota Wild continue to reshape their roster heading into next season. Michael Russo of The Athletic touched on the goaltender in his latest piece, explaining that he has heard the Wild will not be buying out Dubnyk this offseason. That suggestion has surfaced because of the $4.33MM cap hit that the veteran goaltender carries this year despite losing the crease to Alex Stalock and posting a .890 save percentage in 2019-20. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet noted today that the Montreal Canadiens did consider Dubnyk before eventually trading for Jake Allen earlier this summer.
  • Speaking of the Canadiens, Friedman also wrote today that Phillip Danault’s name is “out there” generating interest, though there is still uncertainty about whether he’s actually available. The 27-year-old center is heading into his final year under contract before reaching unrestricted free agency for the first time. The Canadiens currently have only three NHL forwards signed past the 2020-21 season (Jonathan Drouin, Paul Byron and Nick Suzuki), meaning GM Marc Bergevin can pretty much do whatever he wants to shape this group for the years to come.

Sean Couturier Named 2020 Selke Trophy Winner

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Another day, another NHL award announced. This evening it was the honor of best defensive forward, which went to Philadelphia Flyers center Sean Couturier. The league named Couturier the recipient of the Frank J. Selke Trophy for the 2019-20 season, his first time winning the award. The Selke Trophy is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association and is awarded to the forward deemed to “best excel in the defensive aspects of the game.”

Couturier faced stiff competition for the honor this season, as 2018-19 winner Ryan O’Reilly of the St. Louis Blues and four-time winner and nine-time finalist Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins were also named finalists. Yet, the race was not particularly close. Couturier finished with 117 of a possible 170 first-place votes, 96 more than Bergeron in second. His 1424 total voting points were also 540 more than Bergeron. O’Reilly finished close behind in third, with Tampa Bay’s Anthony Cirelli in fourth and Vegas’ Mark Stone and Montreal’s Phillip Danault finishing in a distant fifth and sixth respectively.

Couturier has grown into one of if not the best face-off man in the NHL, a main reason he ran away with the Selke this season. He won 59.7% of his draws, more than any other player in the league (with a minimum 50 face-offs). He also ranked second in defensive zone face-off percentage. On the club level, he led all Flyers forwards in average time on ice and short-handed ice time per game and led all Philadelphia skaters in plus/minus and Corsi. Additionally, Couturier finished second in scoring for Philly, just two points behind Travis Konecny for the team lead.  

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Montreal Canadiens

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season heads past the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Montreal Canadiens.

What are the Canadiens most thankful for?

Plenty of depth scoring.

While the team may not be an elite scoring team, they do get quite a bit of offense from their team with multiple players producing for the Canadiens. The team has six players with 20 points or more and four players with 10 or more goal and another four that have seven or more goals. Tomas Tatar leads the squad with 13 goals and 30 points, while Brendan Gallagher is right behind him 15 goals and 28 points. Phillip Danault has eight goals and 27 points, while Max Domi isn’t far behind with eight goals and 24 points. Joel Armia has 12 goals and even rookie Nick Suzuki has potted seven goals this season.

Who are the Canadiens most thankful for?

Anyone who thinks that at age 34, Shea Weber’s career might begin to decline haven’t seen how well he’s played this year. In 58 games last season, he put up a respectable 14 goals and 39 points even though he was returning from a major injury. However, now fully healthy, he’s shown that little can stop him as he has produced almost a point-per-game pace with 11 goals and 29 points in 33 games this season and is on pace for a potential career-high in goals and points.

Of course, Weber still has six more years remaining on his mega-deal that is worth an AAV of $7.86MM per season, but with the way he’s playing at his age, that contract has been a better value than many thought it might be.

What would the Canadiens be even more thankful for?

The team still has a number of players underproducing and could use a solid second-half of the season.

While Carey Price hasn’t been a disappointment by any measure, his numbers also lack that dominance that has made him one of the best goalies in the league. Through 29 appearances, the 32-year-old has a very pedestrian 2.89 GAA and a .905 save percentage. With the Canadiens battling in quite a tight Atlantic Division, a dominant Price could vault the team even higher in the standings.

On the other hand, a pair of forwards continue to struggle. Jonathan Drouin still hasn’t figured it out. Brought in to be the new dominant face of the franchise back in 2017, Drouin hasn’t been that player and now has been derailed with a wrist injury, but if the team can get Drouin to become the star they had envisioned when he returns at some point in January, the team might be able to take that next step as well.

What should be on the Canadiens’ Holiday Wish List?

A star.

The Montreal Canadiens were rumored to be deep in trade negotiations in hopes of prying star forward Taylor Hall to the team, but failed in the end to land the former Hart Trophy winner. Regardless, the team that should have some cap money to spend this coming summer has made it clear it would like to bring in a big name to headline the team. Unfortunately, with Hall of the table, the options for landing a big name have dwindled as the next biggest star available to the team might be Chris Kreider, who likely doesn’t qualify as a franchise player.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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