Phillip Danault is having a bad season in Los Angeles.
The former Canadiens star hasn't scored a goal in 28 games… and just five assists since the start of the campaign. Things are not going well for him and now his name is starting to circulate.
Elliott Friedman touched on this topic in latest episode of his podcast.
Essentially, the tipster mentions that Danault himself could have asked to leave the Kings organization.
Friedman believes there really is a world where Danault goes to management and tells them he wants a fresh start somewhere else… and that makes Elliott Friedman think the player could be leaving the Kings sooner than we think.
What we can understand is that this file is really starting to heat up. And given the limited number of center players on the market…
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– Elliot Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) December 8, 2025
Philippe Danault could soon be the target of several clubs.
We know some teams are already interested in him… but if the Kings officially put him on the trade market, there will likely be a ton of teams lining up for his services.
Because even if Dano doesn't have a season to match his talent, Dano does have one attractive element to his game: his reliability in the defensive zone. He can be used against a top trio of opponents – we saw him do so in Montreal's 2021 playoffs – and his versatility makes him an important player in big moments.
However, I wonder what the price would look like for a player who is no longer moving forward and is making $5.5 million per season until the end of the summer of 2027…
At the end of the day, Ken Holland doesn't have the luxury of wanting what Barry Trotz did for Ryan O'Reilly, which is a prospect and a first-round pick.
But perhaps the Kings would prefer to get a player who can help right now, given an aging team and perhaps the club's last chance to win a Stanley Cup for a long time…
Whatever.
All of this is to say that Phillip Danault's release is likely to become increasingly popular in the coming weeks. And it makes you wonder if Kent Hughes would be willing to stick his nose in…
After a while
– Yes.
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Lost 4-3 to St. Louis Blues | “The second period is when the Habs are in pain. https://t.co/ikblwQ9FJG
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– Remarkable.
Jett Wu (VCR) on failures
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– Enjoy reading.
Caleb Desnoyer will have a significant advantage in the ÉCJ camp: he knows how to win the national selection. After all, he has already done it three times!
I've been talking to him in the last few minutes.https://t.co/jvhY4uGY2T
– Kevin Dube (@KDubeJDQ) December 8, 2025
