Phillip Danault: if it wasn't the Los Angeles Kings, it was...
Phillip Danault will never be forgotten in Montreal. The Quebec center has stood out time and time again on the ice, mostly due to his skills in the defensive zone, and off the ice due to his honest and sincere personality. He recently left the Montreal Canadiens for the Los Angeles Kings on a six-year deal worth $5.5 million annually per season.
In the case of all players who are free as a bird, teams are very interested in their services. This was the case with the New York Rangers, who according to Elliotte Friedman, were very interested in Phillip Danault.
However, from what we can understand, the Kings offered Danault a much more attractive contract than the Rangers. Is it extra money or an extra year(s)? That hasn't been disclosed.
However, Danault chose the Kings presumably not knowing what to expect... Yes, next year he will back up Anze Kopitar at center, but LA has a slew of talented young center players in their ranks that will be breathing down his neck soon. One can easily think of Vilardi, Byfield, Turcotte, Thomas, Anderson-Dolan and Kupari, only to name a few...
Maybe he would have had way much more opportunities being in the Rangers' plans in the long run. They have depth at center, so he might have fit in better with them, or even the Habs. Only time will tell if Danault made the right choice...
