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Phillip Danault

Montreal’s Phillip Danault Receives Max Fine For Tripping

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A late-game scuffle is going to cost Montreal Canadiens forward Phillip Danault. The Department of Player Safety announced today that Danault has been served with a $5,000 fine for a “dangerous trip” on Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, the maximum fine for that type of penalty under the NHL CBA. While it the maximum amount that Player Safety may fine Danault, $5,000 is less than one-seventh of Danault’s next game check on his $3MM salary this season.

The incident in question occurred late in the third period, when Danault lodged his stick underneath the left knee of Ekblad after a scrum along the boards. Danault then used that leverage to upend Ekblad, causing him to topple to the ice. Ekblad responded immediately, chasing down Danault before the pair dropped the gloves. However, it was again Danault getting the takedown as Ekblad was once gain forced to the ice. Danault received a two-minute minor on the play for tripping in addition to the five-minute major for fighting that both players received.

While Player Safety properly saw fit to punish Danault further for the dangerous takedown and the Montreal center will be out a decent amount of money, it is safe to say that last night’s events were far more damaging for Ekblad. This was the first meeting between the Panthers and Canadiens since the preseason, when Max Domi earned a suspension for the remainder of the preseason for sucker punching an unwilling Ekblad. Many expected the big Florida defenseman to seek his retribution against Domi in this re-match, but again the 6’4″, 220-lb. Ekblad shied away from confrontation despite knowing that the much smaller Domi is usually a willing combatant. Instead, Ekblad waited until the last minute before engaging with Danault, not known for his physical prowess, and still ended up “losing” the fight after being taken down by the smaller Danault. It was Ekblad’s first bout of the season and only the fifth of his career, as the Panthers’ defensive cornerstone hasn’t felt the need to fight to prove that that he has the toughness to match his size and strength. Now that smaller Canadiens forwards have gotten the best of him twice, will he feel the need to prove himself?

Atlantic Notes: Cooper, Nylander, Kotkaniemi, Kronwall, O’Brien

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Despite the fact that Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper is in the final year of his contract, often a bad sign if a team hasn’t extended him, that isn’t the case here. Cooper and new general manager Julien BriseBois have a long history together as BriseBois was the one who originally hired Cooper back in 2010 as the head coach of their AHL franchise when BriseBois was the assistant general manager.

The Athletic’s Joe Smith (subscription required) documents their long history together and writes that even though negotiations haven’t started, BriseBois and Cooper aren’t worried about it at all, considering the trust and bond the two share together.

“I don’t see anyone else I’d want to work with right now,” BriseBois said, who hoisted a Calder Cup trophy with Cooper seven years ago. “The people who were there with you, you never forget that.”

  • Damien Cox of The Star writes that while the Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t done anything wrong when it comes to the contract situation with holdout William Nylander, the team does need to think about how it intends to manage their next two major contract discussions when they must tangle with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. While Nylander is rumored to be asking for $8MM plus in his next deal, both Matthews and Marner could ask for quite a bit more. With the team’s significant cap issues in front of them, the scribe writes the team would be well advised to avoid a similar situation next season by trying to lock those two youngsters up during the season.
  • Montreal Canadiens’ centers have already begun training their newest addition in Jesperi Kotkaniemi by working separately after practice with him on faceoffs on Friday. According to The Athletic’s Marc Antoine Godin (subscription required), Tomas Plekanec, Mathew Peca, Andrew Shaw and Phillip Danault got together and helped teach the 18-year-old some tips and tricks on taking faceoffs with the hopes that the youngster improves his game as quickly as possible.
  • The Detroit Red Wings will be without Niklas Kronwall and Jonathan Ericsson for their two-game road-trip, according to the Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James. Both defensemen have been on injured reserve and still are not ready to return to action.
  • While not on the Ottawa Senators NHL roster, Matt Tidcombe of the Belleville Senators website reports that team lost forward Jim O’Brien for four to six months after the 29-year-old forward underwent surgery on a severed tendon in his right leg in an AHL preseason game. O’Brien played 10 games for Ottawa last year.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi Will Start Season With Montreal Canadiens

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While surprise probably isn’t the correct word, the Montreal Canadiens announced that head coach Claude Julien confirmed that 18-year-old prospect Jesperi Kotkaniemi will start the season in Montreal. No word on where he might play or even what position he might play out of the gate.

“We decided that he’ll start the season here in Montreal. It’s good news for him, and it’s good news for us,” said Julien.

The 2018 third-overall pick has been debated for weeks now about whether or not he should remain with the team. While the team is desperate for help down the middle, Kotkaniemi has not played center on a regular basis in over a year as he played left wing this past season with Liiga’s Assat Pori team as a 17-year-old. With the team already having abandoned the Jonathan Drouin experiment at center and only getting a minimal look at Max Domi as their No. 1 center before being suspended for the remainder of the preseason, the team may be hoping that Kotkaniemi can work his way into the role at some point during the season.

Kotkaniemi was already somewhat of a mild surprise when the Canadiens took him with the third overall pick when there were better-known wingers ahead of him, including Brady Tkachuk and Filip Zadina, but it is believed that the Canadiens fell in love with Kotkaniemi’s potential as a future No. 1 center, which now looks to be immediate. The team is allowed to play him for nine games before they burn the first year of his entry-level contract. The team may want to see how he responds to playing in the regular season before making a final decision on whether to keep him, send him to the AHL’s Laval Rocket or return him to Finland.

One other interesting point made by The Athletic’s Arpon Basu (subscription required) is that the salary cap specifics could fit perfectly if the team keeps Kotkaniemi this season. He points out that if Kotkaniemi does play more than 10 games this season, then he will sign his second NHL contract in 2021-22 when the Canadiens have freed themselves of some significant cap room, including the contracts of Tomas Tatar, Brendan Gallagher, Jeff Petry and Phillip Danault (assuming none of them get extended). It’s also significant, because the team has quite a few other prospects that are a year behind Kotkaniemi such as Nick Suzuki, Ryan Poehling as well as a potential high pick in the 2019 NHL draft who could hit a big payday in 2022-23 and might have Montreal thinking ahead to avoid having all three get paid in the same year.

 

Montreal Canadiens Sign Paul Byron To Four-Year Extension

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Despite some speculation from the fan base that Paul Byron might be the next player out the door for the Montreal Canadiens, Byron himself confirmed last week that he was in talks for a contract extension with the team. Those talks have proved fruitful, as the Canadiens announced a new four-year, $13.6MM contract with the veteran forward. Byron has one year remaining on his current contract at $1.17MM, but will get a hefty raise to $3.4MM per year on average through 2022-23. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun adds that Byron’s contract does not contain any trade protections and will pay him $4MM in years one and three and $2.8MM in years two and four.

This move lines up nicely with what Montreal wants to do over the course of the contract: continue to be competitive while rebuilding their core. Byron has been a great fit for the Habs since coming over from the Calgary Flames via waivers early in the 2015-16 season. Byron has recorded more points in Montreal over the past two seasons (78) than he did his first 200 NHL games prior (66), including a career-high 43 in 2016-17. He has also proven to be a dependable and durable player, skating in all but one game and logging new highs in ice time in the past two years. One could argue that no Canadien has been more consistent than Byron over the past two seasons, who now has the security to further transition into a leader in the locker room.

The versatile forward joins a new Canadiens’ top six of Jonathan Drouin, Tomas Tatar, Brendan Gallagher, Max Domi, and Phillip Danault, all signed on for multiple seasons with the team. A good checker, penalty killer, and all-around two-way contributor, Byron has blossomed into a balanced player who should provide responsible play up front for years to come for the Canadiens. Byron may not have the same name value as some of this teammates or others in the mid-$3MM salary range, but make no mistake – this is a savvy signing by Montreal to lock up a very capable player.

Atlantic Notes: Canadiens, Maple Leafs, Senators

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If you were heading into the season believing that Jonathan Drouin will be the first-line center for the Montreal Canadiens, you may have to rethink that position. GM Marc Bergevin was on TSN radio today and told Tony Marinaro that he currently projects Max Domi, Phillip Danault, Tomas Plekanec and Matthew Peca as the four centers for the Canadiens to start the year. Drouin obviously still could end up at the position at some point given Domi’s lack of experience there, but it sounds like he’ll be starting on the wing.

The Canadiens have been searching for center help for quite some time, and though there is help on the way with prospects Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Ryan Poehling and Nick Suzuki—though the latter has played quite a bit of wing as well during his junior career—2018-19 doesn’t look like it will necessarily be any different. For Drouin at least the move might be beneficial, given that he struggled to score last season down the middle with just 13 goals in 77 games.

  • The Toronto Maple Leafs meanwhile aren’t handing out roster spots at all to their young players, instead expecting them to earn a role in training camp. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet writes that Mike Babcock expects both Travis Dermott and Andreas Johnsson, who are expected to play big roles on the Maple Leafs going forward, to prove that they deserve spots instead of just acting like they’ve “arrived now.” Many Toronto fans are hoping that Dermott will be part of the solution to their perceived defensive woes this season, but he’ll have to convince his head coach that he’s ready before being handed a full-time job.
  • Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion was on CBC radio with Robyn Bresnahan today, speaking about the dilemma he faced with the recent Erik Karlsson situation. Dorion admitted that he knew he couldn’t “get nothing” for Karlsson by watching him walk away in free agency next offseason. Contract negotiations quickly broke down between the two sides this offseason, meaning Dorion felt he “owed it to our fans to tell them what the plan was and before the season started.” The team is quite openly in rebuild mode, and are expected to give plenty of opportunities to young players this season.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Montreal Canadiens

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Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2018-19 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Montreal Canadiens

Current Cap Hit: $71,687,975 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Jesperi Kotkaniemi (three years, $925K)
F Nikita Scherbak (one year, $863K)
D Noah Juulsen (two years, $863K)
F Artturi Lehkonen (one year, $839K)
D Victor Mete (two years, $748K)

Potential Bonuses:

Kotkaniemi: $2.5MM
Juulsen: $425K
Mete: $183K
Scherbak: $175K

Total: $3.28MM

It’s too early to tell if the Canadiens intend to thrust Kotkaniemi onto an NHL roster. Most people feel that the third-overall pick from this year’s draft still needs another year to get bigger and develop his skills, but Montreal is desperate for help at the center position and could consider the 18-year-old to make the leap. Regardless, whether he comes to the NHL now of in the near future, the team does have a franchise center they can look forward to placing into the top-six soon.

Mete had a turbulent rookie season after surprising many by making the team out of training camp. The 20-year-old was brought in to complement Weber due to his speed and puckhandling skills, but he struggled at times and eventually was moved out of the top four and was almost sent back to juniors. In the end, the youngster played 49 games, but with a year of experience under his belt, he is expected to take on a top-four role this season. Juulsen is another solid prospect who should get some time, although more likely in a third-pairing situation.

Scherbak could be the most interesting player. The 22-year-old was a point-a-game player with the Laval Rocket in the AHL, but when recalled to Montreal, he was immediately injured and wasn’t able to capitalize on his opportunity. Scherbak didn’t get the minutes once he returned, scoring four goals in 26 games. However, he might get a chance to gain a regular role this year if he can make a strong impression in camp this year.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Max Pacioretty ($4.5MM, UFA)
F Tomas Plekanec ($2.25MM, UFA)
F Joel Armia ($1.85MM, RFA)
F Paul Byron ($1.17MM, UFA)
D Jordie Benn ($1.1MM, UFA)
G Antti Niemi ($950K, UFA)
D Mike Reilly ($725K, RFA)
D Xavier Ouellet ($700K, RFA)
F Charles Hudon ($650K, UFA)

Much has been said about Pacioretty over the past few months and even in the past week, but as of now, it looks like the 29-year-old is going to end up back on the first line, barring a trade. The team captain is coming off a disappointing 17-goal season after five straight years of 30-goal campaigns (not including the strike-shortened season in 2012-13). The team will have to determine whether they believe last year’s season was a fluke or whether he’s beginning to decline. The team has already committed to several major contracts and adding another one could be detrimental to a team who should rebuild. If he can prove his value with a bounce back season, the team may look to lock him up.

The 35-year-old Plekanec returns after the team traded him away at the trade deadline. He lacks the offense from the old days, but Plekanec still provides an excellent presence as a bottom-six center who has the experience and solid face-off skills, although his six goals and 20 assists is a career low. Byron is coming off a pair of 20-goal seasons for the Canadiens, but is expected to miss part of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery in April. However, the 29-year-old has to prove that he can continue his goal-scoring ways.

The team hopes to get a boost from Armia, who came over when the Canadiens took on Steve Mason’s contract from Winnipeg. The 25-year-old got a full season in with a loaded Jets roster and tallied 12 goals and 29 points. With a bigger role in Montreal, he could become a solid 20-goal scorer. The remainder of players will have to prove their value if they want to come back.

Two Years Remaining

F Max Domi ($3.15MM, RFA)
D David Schlemko ($2.1MM, UFA)
F Matthew Peca ($1.3MM, UFA)
F Nicolas Deslauriers ($950K, UFA)
F Jacob de La Rose ($900, UFA)

The Canadiens gave up a quality player in Alex Galchenyuk in order to acquire Domi. The highly-touted winger has struggled in the NHL over the past couple of years and it probably isn’t a good sign that the Arizona Coyotes gave up on the 23-year-old already, suggesting they didn’t feel that he was going to contribute to their team this year. After a impressive rookie season in which he scored 18 goals and 52 points, he has failed to break double-digits in goals in each of the past two seasons since then. Regardless, Montreal is ready to hand him top-six minutes to prove his value and show that he’s better than Arizona thought he was.

Schlemko provides the team with another depth defenseman, but likely isn’t going to play top-four minutes for the team, while the team has high hopes that Deslauriers can duplicate a 10-goal season on the team’s energy line.

Three Years Remaining

D Jeff Petry ($5.5MM, UFA)
F Brendan Gallagher ($3.75MM, UFA)
F Phillip Danault ($3.08MM, UFA)
G Charlie Lindgren ($750K, UFA)

While many players had down years, Gallagher was the bright spot for the Canadiens as the 26-year-old broke the 30-goal mark last season for the first time and has established himself as top right wing on the team. It was a big improvement from his injury-riddled 10-goal campaign the previous year. Suddenly, at $3.75MM over the next three years, his contract is likely the best value on the team. The team also gave Danault a solid three-year extension. The 25-year-old only had eight goals and 25 points, but would be a more ideal third-line center. Unfortunately, with a hole at the second-line center, Danault has been thrust into a role he wasn’t ready for. We’ll see if he can handle that same role this season.

The team is paying a lot of money for Petry, who is one of the team’s most experienced defenseman with the injury to Weber, and the veteran should be able to handle the No. 1 duties for the time being. The 30-year-old blueliner showed off some offensive skills last year, posting a career-high 12 goals and 42 points.

Four Or More Years Remaining

G Carey Price ($10.5MM through 2025-26)
D Shea Weber ($7.86MM through 2025-26)
F Jonathan Drouin ($5.5MM through 2022-23)
D Karl Alzner ($4.63MM through 2021-22)
F Andrew Shaw ($3.9MM through 2021-22)

The timing of Price’s poor season could have been better after the team extended the netminder last offseason. Now after a major drop off in performance after many felt he was the best goaltender in the world, the $10.5MM deal that kicks in this season, suddenly looks quite undesirable. After a season in which he posted a 2.23 GAA and a .923 save percentage in 62 games, Price struggled with injuries and struggled all year behind Montreal’s weakened blueline. He put up a 3.11 GAA and a .900 save percentage in 49 games. The question is which Price will come back this year? If he can bounce back and perform even close to his 2016-17 statistics, that contract wouldn’t look to be quite as bad.

Unfortunately, Weber’s contract is another story. The 33-year-old blueliner still has eight years left on his contract, only managed to play 26 games last season after he was forced to undergo surgery on a torn tendon in his foot and now is expected to miss a large chunk of the season with the possibility of returning in mid-December. While a dominant defenseman when healthy, one has to wonder whether a major foot injury may alter the impact that Weber makes for the rest of his career, considering his advancing age and the way that speed has taken the league over recently. Whether the team can keep him on the ice for another year or two, let alone eight, will be something to closely monitor.

The team has high expectations will be able to bounce back after his struggles to adapt to the center position. Drouin will continue to play there this season and with a full season of experience and a chance to train there in the preseason, Drouin should be much more comfortable, centering the team’s top line. The third-overall pick from the 2013 draft, Drouin has all the talent to make the adjustment and give the team a top-six center. However, his numbers took a hit with the change in positions as he managed just 13 goals and 46 points on the year. The team also has high expectations that Alzner, the team’s big free-agent signing a year ago, will bounce back as well. The veteran defenseman had trouble getting integrated with his new team as well as having to deal with the expectations that came with the contract he signed. However, with a year of experience, he should be able to settle into top-four role this season.

Buyouts

G Mason ($1.37MM through 2019-20)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: Gallagher
Worst Value: Weber

(Excluding entry-level contracts)

Looking Ahead

The team has all the contracts of a team trying to rebuild with youth. Unfortunately, it also has two contracts that are going to weigh down the franchise for eight more years, which is a long time, especially when some of the young players begin to develop and will need new contracts of their own. While the contract of Price might not seem as bad if the veteran goaltender can rebound, it’s likely that Weber’s deal will be a major albatross and it’s way too early to even consider trading that contract or buying it out. Regardless, the team needs to rebuild despite their strange salary cap situation. The addition of Kotkaniemi, regardless of when he arrives to the team, is a start to the rebuild, even if the team won’t acknowledge that’s what they’re doing.

Full 2018 Arbitration Hearing Schedule

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Almost four dozen players decided to file for salary arbitration this summer, and while some of them have already been signed to contracts many others now know when their hearing will take place. The NHLPA released the full schedule of hearings, spread out from July 20th to August 4th.  Remember that players can sign up until an arbitrator awards a contract, including in the short window after the hearing.

July 20

Jacob Trouba – Team filing: $4.0MM, Player filing: $7.0MM. Awarded one-year, $5.5MM contract.

July 23

Brett Kulak – Team filing: $650K, two-way contract, Player filing: $1.15MM, one-way contract. Awarded one-year, $850K contract.

July 24

Brandon Montour – Team filing: $1.5MM, Player filing: $4.5MM Settled before hearing, two years $6.775MM

July 30

Garnet Hathaway – Team filing: $650K, Player filing: $975K Settled before hearing, one-year $850K

August 1

Cody Ceci – Team filing: $3.35MM, Player filing $6.0MM. Awarded one-year, $4.3MM contract.
Gemel Smith – Team filing: two-way contract, Player filing: $900K. Awarded one-year one-way, $720K contract.

August 3

Mark Stone – Team filing: $5.0MM, Player filing $9.0MM Settled before hearing, one-year, $7.35MM

August 4

William Karlsson – Team filing: $3.5MM, Player filing $6.5MM

Remaining 2018 Arbitration Dates

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As usual, arbitration hearings scheduled for later this month have been getting cancelled every day as teams lock up their restricted free agents. Hearings are scheduled each year between July 20th and August 4th, but we’ve already seen 18 players that filed for player-elected salary arbitration reach a settlement with their respective teams. Those players are listed below, with their contract details:

Elias Lindholm (CGY) – 6 years, $4.85MM AAV
Trevor van Riemsdyk (CAR) – 2 years, $2.3MM AAV
Matthew Nieto (COL) – 2 years, $1.98MM AAV
Devin Shore (DAL) – 2 years, $2.3MM AAV
Joel Armia (MTL) – 1 year, $1.85MM AAV
Phillip Danault (MTL) – 3 years, $3.08MM AAV
Blake Coleman (NJD) – 3 years, $1.8MM AAV
Stefan Noesen (NJD) – 1 year, $1.73MM AAV
Jimmy Vesey (NYR) – 2 years, $2.28MM AAV
Taylor Leier (PHI) – 1 year, $720K AAV
Alex Lyon (PHI) – 2 years, $750K AAV
Jamie Oleksiak (PIT) – 3 years, $2.14MM AAV
Dmitrij Jaskin (STL) – 1 year, $1.1MM AAV
Oskar Sundqvist (STL) – 1 year, $700K AAV
Colin Miller (VGK) – 4 years, $3.88MM AAV
Liam O’Brien (WSH) – 1 year, $650K AAV
Connor Hellebuyck (WPG) – 6 years, $6.17MM AAV
Tomas Nosek (VGK) – 1 year, $962.5K AAV

The remaining arbitration schedule looks like this:

July 20

Chris Tierney (SJS)
Jacob Trouba (WPG)

July 22

Adam Lowry (WPG)

July 23

Brett Kulak (CGY)
Mathew Dumba (MIN)

July 24

Brandon Montour (ANA)

July 25

Joel Edmundson (STL)
Brandon Tanev (WPG)

July 27

Mark Jankowski (CGY)

July 28

David Rittich (CGY)
Jason Zucker (MIN)

July 29

Troy Stecher (VAN)

July 30

Garnet Hathaway (CGY)
MacKenzie Weegar (FLA)
Marko Dano (WPG)

July 31

Brady Skjei (NYR)

August 1

Cody Ceci (OTT)
Gemel Smith (DAL)

August 2

Miikka Salomaki (NSH)
Kevin Hayes (NYR)

August 3

Mattias Janmark (DAL)
Mark Stone (OTT)
Brock Nelson (NYI)

August 4

Ryan Spooner (NYR)
Patrik Nemeth (DAL)
William Karlsson (VGK)

Montreal Canadiens Sign Phillip Danault To Three-Year Deal

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The Montreal Canadiens announced that they have avoided arbitration and signed restricted free agent center Phillip Danault to a three-year, $9.2MM contract with an AAV of $3.08MM.

Danault, who was in his second full season with the Canadiens, was having another solid season when he was hospitalized and was forced to miss more than a month after being hit in the head by Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara’s 124-kilometer-per-hour slapshot. He was released the next day, but suffered from both concussion-like symptoms as well as vertigo. When the center returned to the lineup, he struggled upon return, tallying just one goal and one assist in his final nine games of the season

With the Canadiens short on solid center options last season, Danault and Jonathan Drouin served as a top-six center for the team. Danault is likely to serve in the same capacity with some suggestions that he could be penciled in ahead of Drouin as the No. 1 center next season since the team failed to acquire any more established centers. Regardless of what line he ends up on, the 25-year-old defensive center did have a career-high on faceoff percentage at 52.8 percent and has had a career percentage of 50.9 percent and ranked third on the team in ATOI with 16:35 behind just Max Pacioretty and Drouin.

There was some surprise it took so long for Danault to get a contract as he represents one of general manager Marc Bergevin’s biggest successes when he was acquired via trade from the Chicago Blackhawks for Dale Weiss and Thomas Fleischmann back in 2016. His best season was in 2016-17 when he played in all 82 games, putting up 13 goals and 40 points. The center just completed a bridge deal where he made just $913K, so this is a significant raise for him.

Montreal Would Rather Trade Pacioretty Than Extend Him

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While it’s common knowledge the Montreal Canadiens have been considering trading their captain Max Pacioretty. The 10-year Canadiens’ veteran survived the trade deadline, but TSN’s Insider Bob McKenzie said on his most recent TSN Hockey Bobcast to expect Montreal to shop Pacioretty as the team must find a way to re-tool their roster, since rebuilding with the contracts of both Carey Price and Shea Weber is impossible.

Pacioretty, who has one more year on a reasonable six-year, $27MM deal he signed in 2012, had a major drop in performance this year. After tallying 30 or more goals for four straight seasons, Pacioretty managed just 17 in a forgettable 2017-18.

“I don’t believe that the way things currently stand, barring a change, that Montreal wants to make a long-term commitment to Pacioretty,” McKenzie said. “He’s got a year left on his deal. I think that they want to explore some different options and that possibly trading Pacioretty would satisfy those… I think Pacioretty, in a perfect world, would love to stay on Montreal on so many levels. I think he considers it home now, and he loves playing for the Canadiens. But I’m not sure that it’s a marriage that’s necessarily working at this point, so I would expect Pacioretty’s name to be front and center in a lot of trade talk between now and the NHL draft.”

The bigger issue is what the team hopes to get back in return for him. His value is presently quite low, so it seems unlikely the team will get a major return for the 29-year-old.

“But by the same token, they can’t give him away,” McKenzie added. “And he didn’t have a great year this year. The Montreal Canadiens didn’t have a great year. But he’s still a pretty consistent goal scorer, and you can’t give these guys away.”

However, with the team in desperate need for help at the center position, the team may need to use Pacioretty as a trade chip to fill that hole in their lineup. At the moment, the team had been using Jonathan Drouin and Phillip Danault as their top two centers. Neither belongs in those spots as the team has been trying to convert Drouin into a center, which hasn’t gone well so far, while Danault may just not be a top-six player. To make matters worse, the Canadiens have the third pick in the upcoming draft, but this year’s crop of prospects is weak at the center position. And with few other trade chips, they may have little to no choice, especially if the team is hesitant to sign Pacioretty to a long-term extension next year.

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