Oct 20, 2026 3:30 PM
Phillip Danault's return with the Montreal Canadiens has made a world of difference for the young side, and that's evidenced by how much Martin St-Louis trusts him.
It hasn’t even been a full year since Phillip Danault rejoined the Montreal Canadiens, and he’s thriving. The veteran is enjoying the fact that Martin St-Louis uses him in every aspect of the game and knows what he brings. The Victoriaville native plays a polished game and handles many of the important details we keep hearing about since the Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes.
For instance, when he wins a clean faceoff in the offensive zone, the centerman heads to the net, and because the opponent's center usually follows, it creates traffic and chaos for the netminder. At Friday’s practice, when he was asked about the Canadiens’ inability to close the books when they have the lead, he joked:
“Well, we want to give a good show,” before adding, “Of course it would be fun to win 4-1 and shut the books; that’s certainly something we have to learn to do, but Buffalo are tenacious. They’re always there, they score goals, they’re fast, and there’s a rivalry, so it’s always close, but we’ll definitely have to keep learning to shut the books. It's not that we’re not playing 60 minutes, but we have to shut the books out quicker. It’s hard to put distance between yourself and the other team on the scoreboard, but there’s not a ton missing; we’re in a good place.”
Just like the coach, the veteran is well aware of the need to inflict the coup de grace, as soon as possible when you’re in full control of a game, but it’s easier said than done, as the Canadiens’ results this season have demonstrated. Still, at least the days are gone when the philosophy was to sit back on a lead and hope Carey Price would be flawless. The Canadiens can have good goaltending, but you win a hockey game by scoring goals, not just by avoiding a loss. Staying on the attack lets the team control its own destiny instead of being on its heels and hoping for the best.
Danault might have only one point on the season so far, but he’s doing all the little things that matter. He wins the draws not just for his line, but whenever an important faceoff must be won; St-Louis often starts a shift with him and Suzuki to win the draw, and once possession is established, he makes way for Cole Caufield. It shows how highly St-Louis thinks of him, and that’s not lost on the player, who clearly loves being back in Montreal and having a bigger role again.
Danault is one of the many players who’s playing in a contract year this season and it will be interesting to see if the Canadiens want to retain his services past this season. He’s no doubt playing a big role, but Michael Hage should arrive at the end of the season and with Suzuki, Oliver Kapanaen and Jake Evans, that’s already a crowded center line, but some extra experience couldn’t hurt.
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