New shocking revelation surfaces to explain Phillip Danault's departure from Montreal

PUBLICATION

Jeff Drouin
April 9, 2022 (10:28)

SHARE THIS STORY

Phillip Danault's departure for the Los Angeles Kings last summer disappointed many Canadiens fans. The center agreed to terms on a six-year contract worth a total of $33 million, an average of $5.5 million per year.

But if we remember correctly, some time before leaving the Habs, former general manager Marc Bergevin had offered him a contract extension, but he refused, preferring to test the free agent market.

We must say that his gamble to find himself under the warm California sun paid off as he reached the 20-goal plateau for the first time in his career and is playing on the Kings' second line.

However, we'll never really know the truth about Danault's departure from Montreal, but as Charles-Alexis Brisebois of Danslescoulisses.com reports, a TSN tipster has his own thoughts on the matter.

Shaun Starr, host of TSN 690 and the In the car with Starr podcast, said it was Marc Bergevin's fault that the center left the Habs because he loved Montreal so much that Bergevin thought he would agree to stay on at a discount.

"Nobody loved playing in Montreal like Phillip Danault. Marc Bergevin thought he was using his desire to play here and his Quebec roots as negotiating leverage against him." - Shaun Starr

Let's just say Bergevin may have misjudged Danault's desire to stay with the Habs at all costs.

It's easy to say at the time, but if we remember correctly, Danault had expressed his desire to have a more offensive role when the time came for negotiations and that, in the minds of the Canadiens' management at the time, perhaps they didn't see the Quebec forward as one of the team's first two centers.

Starr was quite hard on the former general manager, even going so far as to say that Bergevin was one of the worst GMs in the team's history. Well, I admit, he's going a bit too far, but we can consider Danault's departure as one of his worst blunders.

In his defense, no one could have predicted that Danault would be on his way to a 20+ goal season, when his best season was 13 goals with the Habs.