"[Danault] was (going to stay in LA) and then his game dipped offensively. It dipped at the end of last season, and it has not gotten back on track now. So officially, no formal trade request was ever made. But there was a conversation about moving on and restarting. Even going into next season with Kopitar out, Danault was going to remain the 3C in LA. It was going to be Byfield, somebody, and Danault if he stayed..."
"The Canadiens were kinda in on this from the start. There were a number of other teams that poked around: Carolina, Dallas, Washington, New Jersey. And really, the Habs picked up things on Wednesday, when it got to a serious point. And Holland looked around and got a second-round pick out of it. In the grand scheme of things, that's not what he wanted."
"I think that's what they're eventually going to do, but this was just a scenario of LA not viewing Danault as a second-line player anymore, despite how good he is defensively, and both sides being accepting, 'alright if there's another opportunity elsewhere, so be it.' And that's what happened. The 32-year-old Danault has scored no goals and recorded only five points in 30 games this season while averaging 16:1"
Phillip Danault experienced an offensive decline at the end of last season that has continued this year. No formal trade request was made, but discussions occurred about moving on and restarting elsewhere. With Kopitar sidelined, Danault still would have been slated as Los Angeles's third-line center. Multiple teams investigated the possibility, and Montreal ultimately acquired Danault for a 2026 second-round pick. The Canadiens gained more than $9 million in cap space due to no retention and now possess an extra draft pick to help pursue a scoring winger for the top-six forward group. Danault has zero goals and five points in 30 games.
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