Player Discussion Phillip Danault

[Rafafouille]

once his contracts up, would you give him anymore than 3.1mil for his lines 59%?
he's good at what he does but you shouldnt slot him higher than the 3rd line, moving to 2nd when required
if all our rookies pan out, unfortunately i think Danault is the odd man out

Why? If last year isn't a fluke, danault is your typical 2nd line center unless you're called Pittsburgh or Washington and you have 3 halls of famers for centers in malkin, crosby and Backstrom.

He's not any worse than schenn is for st Louis. Outside of KK, no rookies currently can take his spot. Unless he surprises, poehling upside is pretty much what danault did last year, 50ish points and selke defense.

 

[Mrb1p]

KK was the youngest player in the league last year. You do realize, again, how dumb your comments are? THE YOUNGEST.

I can tell coaching is not your forte, but I expected more decency out of you.

So... what does that have to do with anything? Theres a player every year that is the "youngest". Im also mostly commenting on this coming season, because thats what I answered about.

 

[JSR 56]

Stanley Cup contenders need good role players. Now, at over $5M, he might cost too much, but if he can get $5M on the open market from a team whose fans speak English, then maybe the critics will finally shut up.

If he remains the #2 center then he will get more than $5mil

 

[ZUKI]

Only in MTL do we delay our franchise 1C talent to catter to 3Cs from la belle province.

That says a lot about your opinion on Danault

 

[Mrb1p]

That says a lot about your opinion on Danault

Oh yeah Im such a quebecophobe. Im from St Henri and my family is 100% francophone, so no, it doesn't mean anything.

 

[Hins77]

Why? If last year isn't a fluke, danault is your typical 2nd line center unless you're called Pittsburgh or Washington and you have 3 halls of famers for centers in malkin, crosby and Backstrom.

He's not any worse than schenn is for st Louis. Outside of KK, no rookies currently can take his spot. Unless he surprises, poehling upside is pretty much what danault did last year, 50ish points and selke defense.

Imo Danault is our Matthieu perreault or brandin sutter in the situation. if Danault is our third centerman. we are a very good team. Perreault is a PP specialist. Danault is a PK specialist. I would see danault sign a contract like 4,5 millions/ 5 years

 

[THE HOFF]

Oh yeah Im such a quebecophobe. Im from St Henri and my family is 100% francophone, so no, it doesn't mean anything.

it does say a lot about your opinion of danault. JAPPO is 100% correct. happy you felt the need to give us your background. My father is german and my mother is irish by the way.

 

[Miller Time]

I'm quite curious to see how he follows up last season...

Confidence is such a big, and seemingly underrated, aspect of performance.

After last year's positive season, and the level of confidence his coaches showed in him, I could see him taking yet another step forward... Can he be a 60pt guy? 65? 70?

Doubt he has the scoring talent to go higher than that, but he's got the hockey IQ, work ethic & opportunity to produce in that 60-70 range...

It would be awesome to see him elevate again this year. Would make his trade value sky-high, while putting the right kind of pressure on JKO, Poehling & Suzuki by setting a high bar for them to reach if they want his ice time.

 

[Just Linda]

Oh yeah every single young star does it, but not in MTL. In MTL theyre tired even though thats scientifically improbable. In Montreal he needs to learn to be good defensively. In Montreal he needs to earn it. In Montreal hes not a good enough person. In Montreal he just didnt fit with the identity. In Montreal he had a partying problem.

Keep drinking the Koolaid. 27 years and counting.

Weird how Svechnikov plays 3rd line in Carolina and he's being developed well, Zadina plays mostly AHL minutes with bottom 6 time in the NHL for a stretch but he's being developed well, Nolan Patrick is playing middle 6 minutes but he's developing well, Kotkaneimi is playing 3rd line minutes but he's the victim of bar coaching, bad culture, and bad city.

Kotkaneimi played 120 games last year, of course he was tired.

He wasn't ready for top pairing minutes against elite players, he's even said so in interviews. He was being developed well. He likely wouldn't have done as well if he was put out against the elite lines in the league. Up until February, he was the most protected player in the league in regards to usage.

Deploying Denault over him isn't a knock or bad thing, it's a timing thing. Kotkaneimi wasn't ready to be a 1c last year, he needed to be sheltered. Good coaches identify that, CJ put him in the perfect position to be successful and develop.

 

[Sorinth]

Why? If last year isn't a fluke, danault is your typical 2nd line center unless you're called Pittsburgh or Washington and you have 3 halls of famers for centers in malkin, crosby and Backstrom.

He's not any worse than schenn is for st Louis. Outside of KK, no rookies currently can take his spot. Unless he surprises, poehling upside is pretty much what danault did last year, 50ish points and selke defense.

Although I agree that Danault is a legitimate 2nd line center, the fact remains that if we want to win the cup we are going to have to beat teams like Tampa, Pittsburgh, Washington, Toronto that have two 1st line centers. So for the most part the whole is he a 2nd line center or not is irrelevant since having a 2nd line center on the 2nd line probably isn't good enough.

 

[Mrb1p]

Weird how Svechnikov plays 3rd line in Carolina and he's being developed well, Zadina plays mostly AHL minutes with bottom 6 time in the NHL for a stretch but he's being developed well, Nolan Patrick is playing middle 6 minutes but he's developing well, Kotkaneimi is playing 3rd line minutes but he's the victim of bar coaching, bad culture, and bad city.

Kotkaneimi played 120 games last year, of course he was tired.

He wasn't ready for top pairing minutes against elite players, he's even said so in interviews. He was being developed well. He likely wouldn't have done as well if he was put out against the elite lines in the league. Up until February, he was the most protected player in the league in regards to usage.

Deploying Denault over him isn't a knock or bad thing, it's a timing thing. Kotkaneimi wasn't ready to be a 1c last year, he needed to be sheltered. Good coaches identify that, CJ put him in the perfect position to be successful and develop.

Danault wasnt ready for those minutes either, and hell never be, because hes not a top 6 C. Im also mostly talking about this year. And no, Nolan Patrick isnt developping well at all, and hes playing 2nd line, and the Flyers actually do have a first line center (two, actually.) And they did move a top 6 C thats better than Danault to make room for him, so thats quite a weird example. Svechnikov played fourth line minutes and he wasnt developping well, he exploded once he was put in the top 6. Zadina hasnt done anything good and is not developping well.

Also, him saying he was tired doesnt mean much. It can be drilled in him, as we all saw with Galchenyuk who "preferred" LW even when he was visibly worse. The smart thing wouldve been to let him develop in Liiga, let him dominate and hone his offensive tools, that wouldve been the smart thing. We dont do that here though. Its better to rush prospect because were scared of losing our GM job. And god do the fans eat it like frosted flakes.

But its all useless debate, as I was mostly talking about this year.

 

[Rafafouille]

Although I agree that Danault is a legitimate 2nd line center, the fact remains that if we want to win the cup we are going to have to beat teams like Tampa, Pittsburgh, Washington, Toronto that have two 1st line centers. So for the most part the whole is he a 2nd line center or not is irrelevant since having a 2nd line center on the 2nd line probably isn't good enough.

You're not wrong but we have to get that center. Unless we're lucky and domi improves even more and KK becomes a star or we win the "lottery" in drafting a stud randomly in the third round like tampa with point. Sadly no stud Quebec centers to bring back home in Ufa like Toronto did with t-res, not that it's even working for them, they're choking hard.

 

[BaseballCoach]

You're not wrong but we have to get that center. Unless we're lucky and domi improves even more and KK becomes a star or we win the "lottery" in drafting a stud randomly in the third round like tampa with point. Sadly no stud Quebec centers to bring back home in Ufa like Toronto did with t-res, not that it's even working for them, they're choking hard.

If someone is throwing two first line centers against us, then we need a Danault to counter, otherwise the defensive responsibilities will all go to Thomson and Poehling.

 

[Sorinth]

If someone is throwing two first line centers against us, then we need a Danault to counter, otherwise the defensive responsibilities will all go to Thomson and Poehling.

If someone is throwing two first line centers against us and we counter with Danault we are likely to lose. We need two first line centers to throw back at them or have some other edge somewhere in the lineup.

 

[Sorinth]

You're not wrong but we have to get that center. Unless we're lucky and domi improves even more and KK becomes a star or we win the "lottery" in drafting a stud randomly in the third round like tampa with point. Sadly no stud Quebec centers to bring back home in Ufa like Toronto did with t-res, not that it's even working for them, they're choking hard.

I'm not sure Domi has to improve much, if he can produce 70 points consistently that puts him up there with other 1st line centers, though certainly a step below the elite ones. He had somewhat of a sheltered role, so he does need to take on more responsibility while still producing at that level.

If we want to compete it pretty much means Kotkaniemi has to become a stud. Which is why roster decisions should be based on what's best for his development instead of how to maximize wins this year. Personally I think he's ready for a 2nd line role, or at the very least a 2B role which does makes Danault the odd man out. That said I do think Danault could find similar success at wing, so I would certainly want try that.

 

[The Real Timo]

Stanley Cup contenders need good role players. Now, at over $5M, he might cost too much, but if he can get $5M on the open market from a team whose fans speak English, then maybe the critics will finally shut up.

Indeed... and since Habs are not Stanley Cup contenders even in anyone's wildest dream, there is no need for Danno.

 

[Mrb1p]

You're not wrong but we have to get that center. Unless we're lucky and domi improves even more and KK becomes a star or we win the "lottery" in drafting a stud randomly in the third round like tampa with point. Sadly no stud Quebec centers to bring back home in Ufa like Toronto did with t-res, not that it's even working for them, they're choking hard.

Gee, I wonder... how do you develop an offensive star... surely it has to be by playing him 12 minutes a night with Lekhonen and Armia, and shattering his late season confidence because hes "tired", riiiight?

 

[1909]

Gee, I wonder... how do you develop an offensive star... surely it has to be by playing him 12 minutes a night with Lekhonen and Armia, and shattering his late season confidence because hes "tired", riiiight?

Man, you're appalling. Get off your high horses. If you cannot understand that a 18 y.o. kid , physically immature, and with ZERO goal on the road cannot be a top six center right now, you don't f***ing understand hockey.

 

[Mrb1p]

Man, you're appalling. Get off your high horses. If you cannot understand that a 18 y.o. kid , physically immature, and with ZERO goal on the road cannot be a top six center right now, you don't ****ing understand hockey.

Hmmm.

First off, if he had zero goals, does that mean he wasnt good enough? Because if so, why was he in the NHL? Second off, is having zero goals really a function of being not good enough or is it just him not playing much, Julien cutting his bench and him not getting good linemates? Its the circle of life my guy, things dont happen in a vacuum.

But again, the real question is, why can physically immature 18/19/20 years old be top 6 centers outside of Montreal? Is it something in the air that prevents it from happening? Nobody ever answered.

 

[Fozz]

Danault was often one of the best Hab forward on the ice last year and matched up quite well against other team's top centers.

 

[Mrb1p]

Danault was often one of the best Hab forward on the ice last year and matched up quite well against other team's top centers.

So were DD and Plekanec the last few years they were here, doesnt mean they werent dragging the team down.

 

[The Real Timo]

Hmmm.

First off, if he had zero goals, does that mean he wasnt good enough? Because if so, why was he in the NHL? Second off, is having zero goals really a function of being not good enough or is it just him not playing much, Julien cutting his bench and him not getting good linemates? Its the circle of life my guy, things dont happen in a vacuum.

But again, the real question is, why can physically immature 18/19/20 years old be top 6 centers outside of Montreal? Is it something in the air that prevents it from happening? Nobody ever answered.

Scotty G went close to 2 seasons without a goal and Robert Gainey still thought he was worth the $$$ and a start first round defenseman. Goals are overrated

 

[MasterD]

I love Danault as a 3rd line center. Job is his until a rookie completely pushes him away from there. And as far as I'm concerned Domi is a C. Him and KK should be #1 and #2 this year. Poelhing/Suzuki/whoever can play wing until we need one of them at C.

 

[Mrb1p]

I love Danault as a 3rd line center. Job is his until a rookie completely pushes him away from there. And as far as I'm concerned Domi is a C. Him and KK should be #1 and #2 this year. Poelhing/Suzuki/whoever can play wing until we need one of them at C.

Amen

 

[BaseballCoach]

If someone is throwing two first line centers against us and we counter with Danault we are likely to lose. We need two first line centers to throw back at them or have some other edge somewhere in the lineup.

Right, Danault and two offensive centres. And a 4th like Thompson OR Poehling. However, Danualt will get lots of minutes, just like Doug Jarvis and Guy Carbonneau did in their primes.