The pizza lover who helped lead the Canadiens to their first Stanley Cup appearance in 28 years was reacquired late Friday for the 2026 second-round draft pick the Canadiens received from the Columbus Blue Jackets for shouldering the brunt of the remaining $8.7 million Patrik Laine earned two summers ago.
That the Canadiens traded that type of asset to the Los Angeles Kings to shoulder the brunt of Danault's remaining balance – $5.5 million through the end of this season and next – speaks volumes about where they've come in their rebuild since then. The decision to acquire Laine in August 2024 was made to provide an offensive boost and morale boost to a team that had lost the most one-goal games in the league the previous season, and the Canadiens wouldn't have accomplished that anyway without being compensated with a second-round pick. They were not yet ready for the next step, although the acquisition of Lane was done in order to better prepare them for this step.
He helped, the Canadiens moved forward, and general manager Kent Hughes told us after last season's trade deadline that he felt ready to “overpay” soon acquire players through trade.
Now he did, and here's why:
As of this writing, the Canadiens are third in the Atlantic Division, but tied for first with the Florida Panthers in points percentage. They were in this position for 34 games, despite not having a single reliable left center on the team. They have achieved this by struggling to hold onto a lead, struggling to defend consistently and struggling with penalties where they rank 25th.th in the NHL, and Danault can help them in all of these areas.
The 32-year-old not only increases the average age of the youngest NHL player; he also has the pedigree and experience that the Canadiens desperately need. He's a veteran of 741 regular-season games, and after playing 32 playoff games with the Canadiens in the last two of his five full seasons with them, he was tasked with facing the best player in the world in a four-game series between the Kings and Edmonton Oilers from 2022-25.
Danault scored eight goals and 43 points last season and followed that up with two goals and eight points in the six games he played against Connor McDavid in the last playoffs. In the remaining 18 games, he scored five goals and 10 points in his first three meetings with McDavid, which followed seasons of 51, 54 and 47 points, respectively.
Danault was not expected to continue his performance over the final two years of his contract, but the drop to five points in the first 30 games of this season was unpredictable.
The Canadiens' bet that Danault can do more with them isn't that outlandish. And it's a relatively safe bet that he can help them where they need it most.
Danault has still played 52.9% of his faceoffs this season and is still a plus-3 despite not scoring a single goal and facing premium talent every night while starting most of his shifts outside the offensive zone. He helped relieve Anze Kopitar and Quinton Byfield of some defensive workload, and he will do the same for Nick Suzuki, Oliver Kapanen and Jake Evans while helping improve Montreal's penalty kill.
It's not that the Canadiens aren't sure how Dano will fit into their group. He helped transform Suzuki into the Selke candidate he has become, and he will likely line up with Brendan Gallagher again.
Gallagher and Danault worked wonders together for years alongside Tomas Tatar before the two helped set up the goal that Artturi Lehkonen scored to send the Canadiens past the Vegas Golden Knights in the Cup final.
It was June. Dec. 24, 2021, with the image of Danault celebrating the victory—as he did everything the Canadiens accomplished during that magical run—with a slice of pizza after the game, and the media availability on Zoom proved unforgettable.
Now the Canadiens have paid a huge price to make new memories with Danault. This is undeniable.
But they still have a second-round pick of their own in the 2026 draft, they still have plenty of first-, second- and third-round picks in each of the next three drafts, and they still have one of the deepest, most talented prospect pools in the NHL. Their future is secure and they have an abundance of assets to continue enriching their present.
Friday's move was one of the first in that vein, and there will be many more like it in the coming years as the Canadiens look to isolate their young core and give themselves plenty of chances to get back to where they were the last time Danault was part of their team.
