Former Canadien Danault feeling happy and appreciated with Kings

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — We’ll leave the past in the past, the way Phillip Danault has, but not before reliving a little bit of it from this Los Angeles suburb, where the former Montreal Canadien has just completed a practice with the Kings.

It felt like Danault took his first real step away from Montreal in January – yes, January, and not September of 2020, when he turned down a six-year, $30-million offer from Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin.

It was 22 days into the first month of 2021 when it was leaked it to La Presse that Danault had opted not to accept that extension, nine days into the most pivotal season of his career, and it hurt him.

The Victoriaville, Que., native had started off the season cold and ended up going 24 games before scoring his first goal. He was made out to be the bad guy, with fans turning on him left and right on social media, and it was impossible for him to not take it personally.

“I think it affected me,” Danault said after the season. “Even if you say it doesn’t affect me, it affected me because I wasn’t playing that good. I wasn’t playing my best hockey at that time, at the start of the year, with everything that was going on. It was tough. It was tough mentally.”

The leak couldn’t have come for any other reason than to humble Danault in negotiations, and it didn’t exactly serve the Canadiens well.

They likely understood then that life would be different without him, and they definitely understand now it’s harder without him.

If public perception was that the Canadiens wouldn’t be wise to pay Danault the kind of money he’d earn on the open market just because he struggled out of the gate offensively before finishing with 24 points in 53 games – a pace over 82 games that was right on par with what he had established through all his seasons with the Canadiens – it was misguided.

The Kings understood. They understood what Danault was bringing to the table – especially after the work he did between Brendan Gallagher and Artturi Lehkonen, to hold explosive scorers Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Blake Wheeler, Kyle Connor, Nikolaj Ehlers, Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone to just three goals between them over Montreal’s run to the Stanley Cup Final. They signed him to a six-year, $33-million contract as soon as unrestricted free agency opened, they gave him a no-movement clause through the first three years and a limited no-trade over the final three years and paid him $14.5-million in signing bonuses.

Eric Staal, who played behind Danault with the Canadiens in the playoffs, did a perfect job explaining what the Kings were buying.

“I’ve been competing against Phil for a couple of years now, and every time I have, I didn’t enjoy it,” Staal said just weeks before the Danault deal got done. “So, I can see now first-hand why I didn’t enjoy it, because he’s an extreme competitor. Phenomenal in the circle, but I love the way he competes every day. As you can tell, and as you could see on our run, you don’t win without players like Phil Danault, and that’s pretty evident.”

It was obvious to the Canadiens too, but the damage was done.

They’ve moved on with a team that acquired Christian Dvorak via trade but is still thinner up the middle. A team that ranks 29th in faceoff percentage, and one that’s struggled mightily on the defensive side of the puck.

Danault, whose last comments as a member of the Canadiens in July were about holding the team dear to his heart and the pride he always had in wearing their jersey, has also moved on.

On Friday, he made it clear he’s right at home in Los Angeles, waiting to move into a house he bought in Manhattan Beach and expecting a second child later this season. He was making lunch and dinner recommendations to reporters after his extensive post-practice press conference.

“Big change, but really happy so far,” Danault said. “They’ve treated me with respect right from the start, and they know what I can bring to the game.”

Kings coach Todd McLellan talked about how much his team has already benefited from Danault’s presence, even if it started with a 1-5-1 record.

“He’s been everything we thought we were getting in him,” McLellan said. “He fits our group very well. His maturity, the way he carries himself in the rink, in the locker room. Very heady player, he can figure things out and picks things up from the coaching staff real quick. We got what we expected from him in the faceoff circle – he’s in the top 20 in the league and I think we expect that number to grow. Penalty kill – our penalty kill’s been stung here a bit, but I think he’s only been on the ice for one of them. So, all the things that you would recognize and understand in Montreal, as a fan or media personnel, we’re getting.”

They’re all the things Danault thought he’d still offer to the Canadiens had the door still been open to him, but said he felt it closed “a good while” before he played out the rest of his final season in their uniform.

“I was able to read between the lines,” Danault said.

The contract-offer leak made things pretty clear, and no other offer from Bergevin came thereafter.

Still, Danault has no resentment about any of it.

“Montreal brought me nothing but positive,” said Danault. “It gave me mental strength. I worked on things there. Montreal was like a springboard for me, and I gained enormous experience in every aspect of life – off the ice, mentally – and I have so much respect for what we did and what I did with the chance they gave me.”

But that’s all behind the 28-year-old now.

He built up some of his fondest memories with the Canadiens knowing long before he left he wouldn’t be back, and his first game against them on Saturday will be one of many steps he takes in his new life with the Kings.

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