Kings: Phillip Danault is on a tear (and should no longer be linked to the Habs)

Just because a few centimetres of snow have paralyzed the City of Montreal Repentigny and its electrical system bygone doesn’t mean that life doesn’t go on in Quebec. The Canadiens are back in action tonight when they welcome the Kings to the Bell Centre. This will be the Habs’ first three-game homestand this week.

The last time the Habs got the better of the Kings, Tomas Tatar was the team’s leading scorer, and the word coronavirus had never been heard before.

What can we expect from the Kings tonight?

The Los Angeles Kings (7-5-4) are in ninth place in the West this morning, just one point away from a playoff spot. Adrian Kempe, rumoured to be on the verge of signing a new multi-season contract at an annual salary of over $10 million, is currently his team’s leading scorer (17 points in 16 games).

Anze Kopitar, who will be making his last career visit to the Bell Centre tonight, has clearly started to slow down (8 points in 16 games), but what interests us most, I think, is the performance of the former Canadiens playing in LA. Former Canadiens whom Marc Bergevin rubs shoulders with on a daily basis in California…

1. Corey Perry has fallen into the fountain of youth
Corey Perry may be 40, earn an annual salary of “only” $2 million and start the season on the injured list, but this morning he is the Kings’ top scorer (7 goals) and fourth-best scorer in 2025-26.

He also boasts the best differential(plus-5) of all Jim Hiller’s men.

To think that Marc Bergevin wouldn’t offer him a two-year contract in the summer of 2021, when Perry was tipped to be the Habs‘ next captain …

No, Perry’s advanced stats aren’t always pretty, but he still brings a lot of positive things to the team he decides to play for.

All this while being used on the fourth-line wing right now…

2. Joel Armia on the first line
When he signed a new two-year, $5 million contract, I thought Joel Armia had become someone else’s enigmatic ball and chain.

Armia is only 32, but on the ice, he looks like he’s 45, so slow and unexplosive is he.

Joel Armia plays on the first line, on the wing, alongside Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe.

This season, Armia has 7 points in 16 games. He is also used on his team’s second shorthanded unit.

Will we notice him tonight at the Bell Centre?

3. Joel Edmundson gets the job done
Joel Edmundson is probably the most aging defenseman in Montreal’s COVID big four.

Edmundson is 32 years old and still plays around 17 or 18 minutes per game on the Kings’ top 4. So far this campaign, he has six points in 16 games. Only Brandt Clarke has more points than him (seven) this season for the Kings.

After the current season, he still has two years left on his contract at an average annual salary of $3.85 million.

4. Phillip Danault looks for himself
Phillip Danault is already in his fifth season away from Montreal. He is currently playing in the fifth year of his six-year contract (at an average annual salary of $5.5 million).

How is Danault doing in California? Let’s just say it’s been pretty tough for him since the start of the season.

He’s been used as the center of the third line and, in 16 games, he still hasn’t found the back of the net. Worse still, he has just three measly assists.

He’s the Kings’ 17th “best” scorer this morning, and let’s just say that at 32, it’s easy to think that Phil Danault’s best is now behind him.

It will probably be Danault’s job to muzzle Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky tonight at the Bell Centre. Will he succeed?

Extension

This summer, two people told me that Phillip Danault would like to come back and play in Montreal. I’m pretty sure that many of my colleagues have heard the same thing; we’ve seen Danault’s name thrown around in a few transaction rumours involving the Canadiens.

However, Danault, who still earns a second-center salary, no longer has what it takes to create offense on a regular basis in the NHL. No, he’s not THE solution to give Ivan Demidov the puck…

I hope we’ll never hear Danault’s name linked to the Montreal Canadiens again. The solution lies elsewhere.