Good Opinion Haver
Rejoint: juin 2018
Messages: 1,825
Mentions "j'aime": 926
The golden rule is don't try to solve a problem before you have to. Otherwise known as the "don't trade Artemi Panarin two years before his contract is up because you're worried about his extension" rule.
You're worried about KK and Suzuki eventually taking the top two center spots from Danault, which may or may not happen. They had a good playoffs. But KK underlying numbers have shown he has not been an effective NHL player over the course of a full season yet and was literally in the minors last year. His future is still very much unknown. Suzuki less so but I'm not sure you want to give him the top C job just yet when you don't have to.
My point is, re-sign Danault now and worry about the consequences later. Consequences that aren't all that dramatic. Realistically, Kotkaniemi will be under team control for the entirety of Danault's next contract. By the end of said contract Danault won't be a top six center. If Danault can be had for Pageau money, that's perfectly fine, plenty of good teams payed their 3C five million, including Tampa and the Blues. And if Gallagher didn't get a full no trade, then Danault won't either, and centers are always in demand.
This isn't a problem that needs to be solved right now. You more-or-less have the cap space. You still need centers for all four lines. Keep as many good players as you can until something- the salary cap, a player's demands, etc.- forces your hand otherwise.