Elliotte Friedman thinks Phillip Danault will ask the Kings to let him go himself

Marc-Olivier Cook
Elliotte Friedman thinks Phillip Danault will ask the Kings to let him go himself
Credit: Getty Images

Phillip Danault is having a miserable season in Los Angeles.

The former Canadiens player has no goals in 28 games… and only five assists since the start of the campaign. Things aren't going well for him, and now his name is starting to circulate.

Elliotte Friedman broached the subject in the latest episode of his podcast.

Basically, the tipster mentions that Danault could ask to leave the Kings organization himself.

Friedman believes that there really is a world in which Danault goes to management to tell them that he wants a fresh start elsewhere… and this prompts Elliotte Friedman to think that the player could leave the Kings sooner than we think too.

What we can understand, then, is that this file is really starting to heat up. And with the limited number of center players on the market…

Phillip Danault could soon become the target of several clubs.

We know some teams are already interested in him… but if the Kings officially place him on the trade market, there will probably be a ton of teams lining up for his services.

Because even if he doesn't have a season to match his talent, Danault has one element in his game that is attractive: his reliability in the defensive zone. He can be used against opposing top trios – we saw him do it in Montreal's playoffs in 2021 – and his versatility makes him an important player in big moments.

I wonder what the price would look like, though, for a player who no longer advances and earns $5.5 million a season until the end of the summer of 2027…

After all, Ken Holland doesn't have the luxury of wanting the same thing Barry Trotz did for Ryan O'Reilly, namely an A prospect and a first-round pick.

But maybe the Kings would rather get a player who can help right now, in the context of an aging team and perhaps the club's last chance to win the Stanley Cup for a long time to come…

Whatever.

All this to say that the Phillip Danault issue is likely to become increasingly popular in the coming weeks. And it makes you wonder whether Kent Hughes will want to stick his nose in…


Overtime

– Yes.

– That's right.

– Of note.

– Good reading.

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