A Worrisome Post for Phillip Danault Has Just Surfaced

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Elliot Ben Jacob
July 22, 2023 (6:45 PM)

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Following the acquisition of center Pierre-Luc Dubois by the Los Angeles Kings, and the announcement of Anze Kopitar's new contract, many experts have begun to speculate about the possible new diminished role of Phillip Danault.

The conclusion seemed to be unanimously the following: Danault's role will indeed decrease in Los Angeles, and he will be demoted from his line.

Knowing how important it is for Phil to play heavy minutes and to have power play time, you can guess that this is causing a stir.

Pierre-Luc Dubois will most likely take his power play time, in addition to taking his place on the Kings' second line. Ouch.

At least, that was our fear for Danault.

And this fear is confirmed by the official NHL site, which has just unveiled its prediction for the Kings' 2023 lineup. See the result:

Quinton Byfield -- Anze Kopitar -- Adrian Kempe

Kevin Fiala -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Arthur Kaliyev

Trevor Moore -- Phillip Danault -- Viktor Arvidsson

Carl Grundstrom -- Blake Lizotte -- Trevor Lewis

Mikey Anderson -- Drew Doughty

Vladislav Gavrikov -- Matt Roy

Tobias Bjornfot -- Brandt Clarke

Pheonix Copley

Cam Talbot

Danault would therefore be leading the Kings' third line, alongside Trevor Moore and Viktor Arvidsson.

As my colleague Nicolas Desrosiers points out, it is somewhat ironic that number 24 wanted to leave the Canadiens in order to have an opportunity to play in a top 6, while he was going to be relegated to a role on a third line in Montreal.

Two seasons later, it seems that the situation he wanted to leave with the CH has caught up with him in Los Angeles.

While we are less concerned about his defensive minutes, we are much more so for his precious minutes in the offensive zone and on the power play.

We hope we are wrong and we look forward to following this, but Danault is likely to be disappointed.

Details and the concerning post, here:

Credit: GoNordiques.com