Phillip Danault: “Look at the Canadiens’ lineup tonight.”

Félix Forget
Phillip Danault: “Look at the Canadiens’ lineup tonight.”
Credit: Getty Images

For the past few days, it has seemed as if Phillip Danault could be traded at any moment. The in-demand Kings center is likely to be traded before the NHL's trade freeze… which begins in just over 24 hours.

The clock is ticking.

And tonight, it's interesting to notethat a Kings scout is attending the Habs game. We know that Montreal is in the running for Danault's services, and seeing a Kings scout at the Bell Centre suggests that he may be there in connection with Danault.

Renaud Lavoie, during his segment on JiC tonight, went back over the whole issue… and when JiC asked him if the Canadiens were out of the running because of the Kings' demands(who want a player who can help right away and who, ideally, plays center), Lavoie mentioned the following:

Not necessarily. Look at the Canadiens' lineup tonight. I'll leave you to think… – Renaud Lavoie

Assuming the Kings want a center, there are five in the Habs lineup tonight. Nick Suzuki obviously won't be traded, so that leaves four other options: Oliver Kapanen, Jake Evans, Joe Veleno, and Owen Beck.

And Kapanen is clearly the most interesting.

Right now, it's clear that Kapanen (drafted by Marc Bergevin in Montreal) is the Kings' most coveted option. He's by far the most interesting player of the lot… and he's actually having a much better season than Danault. Kapanen has 10 goals so far this season, which puts him 10 ahead of Danault.

But obviously, for the Habs, giving Kapanen away would be very risky. True, he's probably playing above his head right now, but the club would be taking a major risk by trading the man who is their de facto second center this season (and who doesn't do badly in that role despite being 22).

At the same time, you have to give to get. It's not Veleno who will intrigue the Kings, and Beck isn't yet a full-time NHL player. The other possibility would be Evans… but he won't be the Kings' #1 target when Kapanen is right there, and he doesn't fit the profile of the “young” center.

It'll be interesting to see how the Habs handle all this, because a trade where Kapanen is swapped for Danault won't make fans in town very happy. And even if Danault is a Québécois who has played here before, the Kings will have to add something else to make it make sense.


Overtime

– 2026 Olympics: hard at work to complete arena construction.

– Let's see what happens.

– Great read on Gavin McKenna.

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