Phillip Danault: the Habs have addressed their most pressing need

Félix Forget
Phillip Danault: the Habs have addressed their most pressing need
Credit: Screenshot/Twitter

For several months now, we've been talking about a second center being the most pressing need in Montreal. After all, it's been pretty thin behind Nick Suzuki… and injuries haven't helped.

Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook aren't second-line centers, we agree. But they at least offered options for depth.

But a few days ago, a new and even more glaring need emerged: that of a quality defensive center who was capable of winning face-offs. Because without Christian Dvorak, there was no one in town for the job.

Nick Suzuki is a great defensive player, and guys like Oliver Kapanen and Jake Evans aren't bad either. But at the end of the game, it was hard to feel confident with these guys on the ice, as they were losing the face-off too often.

And that's where Phillip Danault fills the most pressing need in town: he's a (left-handed) center who's as dominant as ever in the face-off circle.

Single-handedly, he has won almost as many career face-offs as the club's other three centers combined.

Last year, Kent Hughes snapped up Alexandre Carrier because the Habs needed a trusted player on the blue line. He didn't want a superstar, but a defenseman the club could count on to take on defensive assignments. And it paid off.

And now, 366 days later, Danault is coming to town for the same reasons, but on the forward side. Martin St-Louis will finally have a center who he won't be afraid to send into the fray at the end of games to protect his team's lead… and Nick Suzuki will have less of a problem.

Expect the captain to spend less time on the ice when short-handed. And that's great news: he'll be even more effective at generating offense.

At this morning's press briefing, Martin St-Louis was asked whether he saw Danault as a guy who could fill a role akin to Sean Monahan's a few years ago. But the coach was clear: while there are similarities between the two guys (two left-handed center players who excel in the face-off circle and needed a fresh start), he sees Danault more as a guy who will occupy a purely defensive role with his club.

He'll eat up defensive minutes, which will take pressure off the club's other center players (who are all a bit overloaded at the moment).

Danault doesn't solve the problem of the infamous second center, we agree. But in reality, the Habs don't need to generate more offense: they need a guy who will help them protect leads, something the club is having trouble doing this season.

And Danault is more than capable of doing that.


Overtime

– Let's see.

– Great read on the other trade made last night.

– Frank Vatrano fined.

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