Player Discussion Phillip Danault - Damn-oh ! Edition

[Mrb1p]

If Gallagher played with guys like McDavid or Crosby maybe but then we'd probably be having this same argument regarding Gallagher. Gally, like Danault, is not super high skill. He's basically the ultimate grinder.

Ideally though, I agree that Danault is better suited to the 3rd line. He's doing a good job all things considered right now but Id rather him be our version of Jordan Staal. A guy who can play against top quality opposition and frustrate them or a guy who can be used to exploit lesser opposition if the other team avoids the matchup

I think youre selling Gally short here. Hes a two time thirty goal scorer and he wouldve had three or more if not for injuries, Gally is clearly a talented player. You dont just put up 30 goals at ES without being a talented player. Even playig wih Domi, wed see him put up elite numbers.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Wtf

I watched the games... I liked Eller cause he is one strong big body who competes hard. But lets not pretend that he was a better center for us vs what Danault is providing for us this year? Eller got his opportunity and he didn't produce consistently.

Eller has matured and improved. Did we make a mistake letting him go vs DD? Yes! But lets not pretend Eller was this dynamic center for us when he was a Habs player.

 

[Mrb1p]

Danault was paired up with Drouin for several games too. The Tatar/Danault/Gallagher line has been played a lot but not the full season.

Your roster tinkering will come but you are too early cause Kotkaniemi and Domi are young centers who are being deployed strategically. Danault is our best center and he is playing very effectively. Give credit where it's due man.

We all agree that ideally, if we had a cup contender, Danault would be our #3C. We are not there yet and Kotkaniemi is playing center as a 18 year old. You don't mess with his development and start to throw various wingers on his line cause you are drooling offense.

Nothing youve said warrants sticking the two best wingers on Danaults wings.

 

[Mrb1p]

Don't get upset. Julien is simply a better coach than you are. That's what I'm trying to tell you. Do you disagree? lol

Im telling you its not an argument.

 

[Habs Halifax]

I think youre selling Gally short here. Hes a two time thirty goal scorer and he wouldve had three or more if not for injuries, Gally is clearly a talented player. You dont just put up 30 goals at ES without being a talented player. Even playig wih Domi, wed see him put up elite numbers.

Gallagher skating is average at best. He is simply one very smart forward who works very hard and his intensity is unmatched. He can score from the inside of the face off circle with his shot, he can bang in a rebound in front of the net, and he has great hand eye coordination for tip ins.

Gallagher is playing with Danault cause they fit well together. You don't auto create your line-ups based on has the most offense. It's way more complicated than that in terms of creating a competitive roster.

 

[Mrb1p]

I watched the games... I liked Eller cause he is one strong big body who competes hard. But lets not pretend that he was a better center for us vs what Danault is providing for us this year? Eller got his opportunity and he didn't produce consistently.

Eller has matured and improved. Did we make a mistake letting him go vs DD? Yes! But lets not pretend Eller was this dynamic center for us when he was a Habs player.

At this point Im confident in saying you dont know how to read and you just wing it because its crazy how you are unable to follow a simple conversation.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Im telling you its not an argument.

OK... then now I'm telling you that you should try to understand what Julien is doing vs being a armchair GM and pretending that Danault is not a solid middle 2C.

 

[Habs Halifax]

At this point Im confident in saying you dont know how to read and you just wing it because its crazy how you are unable to follow a simple conversation.

Why cause I replied to a WTF only reply after you replied to a Danault vs Eller post?

Your imagination is impressive.

 

[Mrb1p]

OK... then now I'm telling you that you should try to understand what Julien is doing vs being a armchair GM and pretending that Danault is not a solid middle 2C.

Alright lets just ignore each other from now on Ive had it.

 

[Belial]

Some Habs fans will not call him a top 2C until he proves he can produce 60+ points. What he does other than points is ignored.

I agree with you man. Just trying to understand the angle some are taking.

Naaahh, you still don't get it lol

The points are there and they still think he's not good!

 

[Habs Halifax]

Nothing youve said warrants sticking the two best wingers on Danaults wings.

You need to re-read. Drouin has played several games with Danault too and he is not our one of our two best wingers.

The Tatar/Danault/Gallagher line was used a lot but that has changed here and there. The line works... why mess with it? Cause you don't like Danault and think he is only a 3C? Creating lines has a lot to do with chemistry and they get to experiment with this in practice.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Naaahh, you still don't get it lol

The points are there and they still think he's not good!

He is on pace for 55 pts and what... 14 goals? I do get it and I feel very comfortable calling Danault a good middle 2C. What are you saying? He is a for sure #2C? I'm not sure I'm willing to go that far yet.

I do believe Danault is an improving player and this is really only his 2nd full season in the NHL at the age of 26. He is just touching his prime IMO and he falls in the age 25-30 range in terms of maturing into a well rounding NHL player.

I'm not going to pump his tires to the max or deflate them either.

 

[LaP]

Eller was not a trusted center when he was with the Habs. He is not the player with us back when as he is today with the Caps. He clearly matured in his 25-30 years. Danault is a trusted center and he produces while being the go to shut down guy too.

Eh no he's the same player. He's just trusted more by his coach. That's the only difference. People need to stop with this "the player would not be as good with us" myth. A player will be as good as the confidence you have in him. Very few players can perform well while being thrown under the bus for no reason by his coach.

Most players will likely never see their game mature and eventually get better if you don't give them opportunities to progress. Eller showed very good things here in 2012-2013 and 2013-2014. Then MT happened. He's a solid 3rd line player who can help on the 2nd line for a while when there's injuries. He'll have a better career than DD that's for sure and while he'll never be a top 6 center he deserved a chance to prove what he was able to do when DD crapped the bed.

 

[DangerDave]

He is on pace for 55 pts and what... 14 goals? I do get it and I feel very comfortable calling Danault a good middle 2C. What are you saying? He is a for sure #2C? I'm not sure I'm willing to go that far yet.

I do believe Danault is an improving player and this is really only his 2nd full season in the NHL at the age of 26. He is just touching his prime IMO and he falls in the age 25-30 range in terms of maturing into a well rounding NHL player.

I'm not going to pump his tires to the max or deflate them either.

Jordan Staal type. Defensive C who can fill in top 6 and do a good job but excels behind 2 more offensive centers. Fortunately, KK and Domi look like they're going to slot in ahead of him soon. Then Danault can be a great shut down guy or can exploit weaker lines.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Jordan Staal type. Defensive C who can fill in top 6 and do a good job but excels behind 2 more offensive centers. Fortunately, KK and Domi look like they're going to slot in ahead of him soon. Then Danault can be a great shut down guy or can exploit weaker lines.

Ideally, this is what we all want... once Domi and Kotkaniemi mature into trusted centers. For now, we have to wait and Danault is more than holding his own in terms of playing against the best centers in the league.

 

[LaP]

Some Habs fans will not call him a top 2C until he proves he can produce 60+ points. What he does other than points is ignored.

I agree with you man. Just trying to understand the angle some are taking.

Nothing to do with producing 60 points. Just 50 and a good playoffs performance would be a start. More consistency would help a lot too. He'll likely do 50 points this year but he had a sequence of 9 points in 5 games and another one of 7 points in 4 games. We are talking about almost 2 points a game sequences of 4 and 5 games. He wont have such sequences every season (unless he's Crosby disguised as Danault).

He's been very inconsistent offensively speaking. Was the same last year. For a while last year he was producing at a 50 points rate and then he had a terrible sequence before being injured. Until then in my book he's still a deluxe 3rd line center on a contender.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Eh no he's the same player. He's just trusted more by his coach. That's the only difference. People need to stop with this "the player would not be as good with us" myth. A player will be as good as the confidence you have in him. Very few players can perform well while being thrown under the bus for no reason by his coach.

Most players will likely never see their game mature and eventually get better if you don't give them opportunities to progress. Eller showed very good things here in 2012-2013 and 2013-2014. Then MT happened. He's a solid 3rd line player who can help on the 2nd line for a while when there's injuries. He'll have a better career than DD that's for sure and while he'll never be a top 6 center he deserved a chance to prove what he was able to do when DD crapped the bed.

Few things we need to consider...

- It was easier for Eller to slot in as a #3C with the Caps roster vs the Habs roster.
- Eller was traded at the age of 26 where Danault is just starting to show us his true potential. We traded Eller right before the point where you get the best value IMO.

I wasn't a huge MT fan but I did see the concerns in Eller's game in terms of consistency and making risky plays in key situations. The issue is many Habs fans believed in his potential that he could get better. MT/MB did not and they were wrong. DD should of been the guy shipped out of town instead.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Nothing to do with producing 60 points. Just 50 and a good playoffs performance would be a start. More consistency would help a lot too. He'll likely do 50 points this year but he had a sequence of 9 points in 5 games and another one of 7 points in 4 games. We are talking about almost 2 points a game sequences of 4 and 5 games. He wont have such sequences every season (unless he's Crosby disguised as Danault).

He's been very inconsistent offensively speaking. Was the same last year. For a while last year he was producing at a 50 points rate and then he had a terrible sequence before being injured. Until then in my book he's still a deluxe 3rd line center on a contender.

I expect Danault to be inconsistent offensively from season to season cause he is focused at playing a responsible 200' game. You can expect the same from Poehling once he is NHL ready. These types are not like Domi where they are fearless in terms of being creative offensively. They are the types that think defense and to position themselves to deal with turnovers and transition

 

[DangerDave]

Ideally, this is what we all want... once Domi and Kotkaniemi mature into trusted centers. For now, we have to wait and Danault is more than holding his own in terms of playing against the best centers in the league.

Danault is still young and developing too. I know all eyes are on how Domi and KK pan out but I also think Danault has a little more potential and him playing with Tatar and Gally is doing him some good.

Next year though, I hope we give KK a real chance to shine with some higher end wingers. I really hope Suzuki impresses so we can maybe see him with KK making some big brain plays.

 

[Belial]

Eh no he's the same player. He's just trusted more by his coach. That's the only difference. People need to stop with this "the player would not be as good with us" myth. A player will be as good as the confidence you have in him. Very few players can perform well while being thrown under the bus for no reason by his coach.

Most players will likely never see their game mature and eventually get better if you don't give them opportunities to progress. Eller showed very good things here in 2012-2013 and 2013-2014. Then MT happened. He's a solid 3rd line player who can help on the 2nd line for a while when there's injuries. He'll have a better career than DD that's for sure and while he'll never be a top 6 center he deserved a chance to prove what he was able to do when DD crapped the bed.

So you really think NHL coaches throw players under the bus for no reason? Just like that!Why not haha!?

 

[Habs Halifax]

Danault is still young and developing too. I know all eyes are on how Domi and KK pan out but I also think Danault has a little more potential and him playing with Tatar and Gally is doing him some good.

Next year though, I hope we give KK a real chance to shine with some higher end wingers. I really hope Suzuki impresses so we can maybe see him with KK making some big brain plays.

The issue is this pride/rebound year. They won't try to put Kotkaniemi or Domi in a situation that might cost us the game. If we were rebuilding and not expected to make the playoffs, then that's a different situation and you can tolerate mistakes on the job to a certain degree.

Who knows how long it takes for Kotkaniemi and Domi to be trusted like Danault is. I wish it was as early as next year but we will have to see how much Kotkaniemi and Domi mature as trusted centers moving forward.

 

[LaP]

So you really think NHL coaches throw players under the bus for no reason? Just like that!Why not haha!?

Yes MT did. I mean i don't think he did he actually did. It's a fact. Beside MT is not a NHL coach anymore and for good reasons.

 

[Belial]

Yes MT did. I mean i don't think he did he actually did. It's a fact. Beside MT is not a NHL coach anymore and for good reasons.

Yeah, just like Bergevin called Radulov a dog...

 

[Archijerej]

The point is that Danault shouldnt have the two best wingers on the team, and that were holding back the team by doing so. It makes absolutely no sense that our two best offensive C have to deal with Drouin/Byron/Armia/Lekhonen/Shaw while he gets Tatar/Gally. Absolutely no sense.

So you're saying:

- this roster has the potential to generate more 5 on 5 scoring (currently #6 in the league) by means of using different line combinations
- Tatar - Danault - Gallagher line is in fact counterproductive, as it prevents us from being a more potent offensive team with the same roster

Is that what you're saying?

 

[Belial]

So you're saying:

- this roster has the potential to generate more 5 on 5 scoring (currently #6 in the league) by means of using different line combinations
- Tatar - Danault - Gallagher line is in fact counterproductive, as it prevents us from being a more potent offensive team with the same roster

Is that what you're saying?

We could've destroyed the league my friend but Danault settled us for a bubble team ...