When Montreal Canadiens’ GM Kent Hughes heard that Phillip Danault may be available for trade, he called the Los Angeles Kings’ GM Ken Holland and told him that if he ever wanted to do so, he should give him a call. A few weeks later, Danault became a Hab again in return for the second-round pick the Canadiens had acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Patrik Laine trade.

Danault has now played six games with the Canadiens since he was reacquired, and he has proven to be very useful, especially since the Tricolore lost Jake Evans to injury on the same day as the trade was announced. Aside from his first game in Boston, Danault has been very successful at the faceoff dot. Against the Boston Bruins, he only had a 33% success rate. Still, he won 72% of his draws against the Tampa Bay Lightning, 59% against the Florida Panthers, 64% against the Carolina Hurricanes, 61% against the St. Louis Blues, and 67% against the Dallas Stars.

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In the Canadiens’ win against the Stars on Sunday afternoon, it was Danault who won the overtime faceoff that led to Lane Hutson’s game-winning goal, and Martin St-Louis has also started using him to kick off overtime periods to get puck possession. Once that’s secured, he makes way for one of the Habs’ more offensively gifted players.

While he might have only put up two points in six games, he hasn’t been acquired to put up big offensive numbers. The 2021 version of Danault produced quite a bit, but the 2026 version is now 32 years old and has accepted that he needs to play primarily in a defensive role.

Still, his assist on Brendan Gallagher’s goal was the 400th point of his career, a feat his teammates celebrated after the match by naming him player of the game. When Evans returns from injury, the Canadiens’ center depth will be much better, and despite being a bottom-six forward, Danault has already shown that he can play a significant role for the Habs, and the trade looks like yet another good move for Hughes.

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