Phillip Danault, first line center : is there a similar case?

[TopTenPlayz]

On the 1st line with Patches and Radulov he's probably a 40-45 point center, on the 3rd line he's closer to 25-30. That being said he does makes his wingers lives much easier, he's excellent defensively and he's strong on the boards/cycling.

Offensively he's nowhere near a 1st liner but his other attributes make it so that he doesn't really look THAT out of place. If Galchenyuk played like Danault and paid attention to the small details and simplified his game he'd be such a great center.. so much talent going to waste because he tries to do everything by himself and play overly fancy.

Galchenyuk doesn't have that in him. One of the worst possession players on the team. Loses almost every board battle he's in. Overly relies on Radulov to make plays for him. Asking Galchenyuk to play like Danault is like asking a penguin to fly. The sooner Habs fans realize that he's not their savior at center, the less difficult it'll be for them to digest the pill when he'll get traded this summer.

 

[TT1]

Galchenyuk doesn't have that in him. One of the worst possession players on the team. Loses almost every board battle he's in. Overly relies on Radulov to make plays for him. Asking Galchenyuk to play like Danault is like asking a penguin to fly. The sooner Habs fans realize that he's not their savior at center, the less difficult it'll be for them to digest the pill when he'll get traded this summer.

I'd like to see him go aswell because his overrated, that said i wouldn't want to get a bad return.. but at the same time the Taylor Hall trade scares me

Hall was morth more than Galchenyuk on paper.

 

[McDrailers]

Just so I'm clear, Danault is okay as a first line centre (as a small guy) buy Desharnais was a curse to the Habs?

 

[Devourers]

Ok so some people in this thread went overboard, but the kid does have 39pts this season, with 0 pp time. How would most first line centers, even plenty who are considered elite look without their PP time?

I'm in no way denying that he doesn't play on the PP because he simply isn't an offensive guy, just pointing out that if he did play on the PP he'd probably have around 49 points roughly, and is basically a quality 2nd line C. Not trying to say he's a first, but I think calling him a 3rd isn't fair either. It's his first full pro season and he has 39pts with no PP time. This guy wins puck battles, is a very smart player and has the hockey IQ to be a 2nd line C and if he did get PP time would for sure have more points.

I cherry picked some other top C's to show you their stats if they had zero PP time, I'm not denying these guys get PP time because they're better offensive guys, it's just to show what their stats would actually look like:

Ryan Johansen, 61pts - 23PPpts = 38pts.
Sean Monahan, 58pts - 17PPpts = 41pts
Toews, 57pts - 17PPpts = 40pts
Giroux, 57pts - 30PPpts = 27pts

Now obviously I'm not trying to say he's better than these guys are, but I'm just pointing out that in the future he could be a 2nd line C with maybe some 2nd PP wave minutes and be a 45-50pt guy. This is his first year pro.

Am I saying he's better than Giroux? No. Am I saying his defense is at the tier of Bergeron? No. I'm just saying he's underrated by the fact that he doesn't get nearly the same PP time as the players above (only 2 PP pts) and yet is still probably going to hit the 40pt mark. I do not see him as a 1st line C, but I do see him as a future 2nd line C who is responsible defensively, wins more than half his faceoffs, digs in the corners, etc.

Some fans in here overrate him, maybe you think I'm one of them, but IMO if he had the same kind of PP time Giroux etc have, he'd probably be at closer to 48pts right now than 38pts.

Just so I'm clear, Danault is okay as a first line centre (as a small guy) buy Desharnais was a curse to the Habs?

A 6'1" 200lbs guy who wins puck battles, digs in the corners, has some grit, to you is the same as a 5'7" 170lbs guy, who can't win a puck battle to save his life, has zero grit, doesn't actually put up POINTS despite getting 1st wave PP time, and basically sucks?

We're alright with Danault because he has almost 40pts with no PP time, while DD was struggling to get 40pts with 1st wave PP time, all the while sucking as a hockey player in anything other than offense which he still wasn't successfully doing.

 

[Lampedampe]

Good corsi check
Good faceoffs check

Give him the Selke already!

In all seriousness though I don't get the question, a similar case of a what?

 

[member 256847]

Just so I'm clear, Danault is okay as a first line centre (as a small guy) buy Desharnais was a curse to the Habs?

Are you really trying to compare a 6'0 200lbs (not small) 200 ft player to a 5'7 170lbs defensively challenged player that needs heavy sheltering in order to be sucessful? Yeah, one is a clear improvement over the other, even if less than ideal for the position.

 

[604]

71 points actually.....67 the year before, and 60 the next.

Was just going to say this... Severely underrated.

 

[Morgs]

Sounds like Couturier. except for the 1st line C part. 40~ points, and great-elite defensive game.

 

[ChiHawk21]

he played like a 4th line center on the hawks last year. unless he got seriously 10x better then i would guess hes not a 1C

 

[hersky77]

Just so I'm clear, Danault is okay as a first line centre (as a small guy) buy Desharnais was a curse to the Habs?

Phil Danault offensively isnt as gifted as Desharnais, but hes better in every other facet of the game

 

[covfefe]

he played like a 4th line center on the hawks last year. unless he got seriously 10x better then i would guess hes not a 1C

this post: "I have no idea what I'm talking about, but I used to know, so here's 10 cents"

 

[Skobel24]

Similar example could be Matt Lombardi. Really speedy, good defensive game. Slotted with Iginla for a while and was usually around a 40 point pace.

 

[hersky77]

he played like a 4th line center on the hawks last year. unless he got seriously 10x better then i would guess hes not a 1C

He was in a no win situation in Chicago last year. Galchenyuk getting hurt was a blessing in disguise for him. And the fact he has meshed so well with Pacioretty and Radulov.

 

[Skobel24]

Was just going to say this... Severely underrated.

I still remember when Calgary signed him, hfboards had a field day with the "Calgary finally got their #1 center" jokes. He wasn't an ideal #1 option, but he filled that role quite well. Always liked BMO

 

[Leon Lucius Black]

He's 29th among centres in even strength points with 36 which is solid.

He's the type of guy who earns his points, he hasn't had his point totals inflated with secondary assists by playing with two good players.. his points come from strong defensive play, hard work in the corners and in front of the net.

Obviously he's not a top line C, but he's not a passenger on that line like a guy like Desharnais was, he works his ass off and helps out Patch/Radulov a lot defensively and in the dirty areas.

 

[BLNY]

Well, if he's getting relegated to 3rd line role, that means two things :

- Galchenyuk really improves
- We get a center that's better than him, one way or another. Or two.

Galchenyuk's time at center isn't done. I hate that coaches moving him around has tarnished him. From the last 30 games of last season thru the first 30 games of this season he was a ppg player at center. He needs to be built up again. He'll be back.

Shipachyov is still on the list. I'm hopeful that Berg can pawn Plekanec off, but Ship should be signable regardless. He's arguably the best player not in the NHL.

 

[Frank the Tank]

Shawn Horcoff. The guy earned his minutes, but him being the Oilers#1 center was an interesting time for the franchise.

 

[Skobel24]

He's 29th among centres in even strength points with 36 which is solid.

He's the type of guy who earns his points, he hasn't had his point totals inflated with secondary assists by playing with two good players.. his points come from strong defensive play, hard work in the corners and in front of the net.

Obviously he's not a top line C, but he's not a passenger on that line like a guy like Desharnais was, he works his ass off and helps out Patch/Radulov a lot defensively and in the dirty areas.

I think he's what I'd call a solid middle 6 guy, who is serviceable on the top line if needed.

 

[Leon Lucius Black]

I think he's what I'd call a solid middle 6 guy, who is serviceable on the top line if needed.

That's exactly what he is.

He's playing on our top line, but it doesn't mean he's a #1 C. Ideally, he'd be centering our second or third line.. but having a guy like him allows our two best wingers to play more offensive while he helps out defensively. He's also not a black hole offensively and can chip in with some nice plays.

 

[sandysan]

Just so I'm clear, Danault is okay as a first line centre (as a small guy) buy Desharnais was a curse to the Habs?

yes, because danault doesnt play anything like deharnais with or away from the puck.
and could it be better ? sure but we dont have a time machine and right now ( and going forward this year ) he's our best choice at 1C.

 

[MtlBoxFan]

Danault has been playing top line minutes between Pacioretty and Radulov all season long. He's been amazing, every Habs fans love him. He's an elite defensive center, one of the best puck retriever in the league, leaves everything on the ice. Is there another case of a player with limited offensive output who's really good at centering a first line? Because he's been amazing but nobody believes he's a classical first line center.

Not really. Usually wingers succeed off of the talent of the center. Alex Burrows comes to mind but he had 3 seasons over 50 points.

 

[MtlBoxFan]

Good corsi check
Good faceoffs check

Give him the Selke already!

In all seriousness though I don't get the question, a similar case of a what?

Jock itch?

 

[MtlBoxFan]

25 points on the PP is good PP production. Danault is NOT a good PP player, thats why hes a 40 points player, not because he doesnt play it. Unless you want to argue ES impact only then I kinda agree, hes a good enough ES player to be a top 6 player, just like Pacioretty is one of the very best ES player because his contribution on the PP is negligible.

Also, consider that he started the year as a 4th line winger. He wasn't getting top minutes all year. 40 points this year, maybe pro-rated to 50 if he had the role all year.

 

[hersky77]

whoops. u forgot the hawks 2nd line center.

well Anismov is hurt, so no i didn't forget him.

 

[ChiHawk21]

well Anismov is hurt, so no i didn't forget him.

ha ok if you are trying to find loop holes then while anisimov is hurt schmaltz plays center. So you continue to be wrong.