30 million for 0 goals in 23 games doesn't sound like a good idea

He's never been a goal scorer, so I couldn't care less. That's like judging Alex Ovechkin by his amount of assists or Josh Gorges by his points totals.

sure but paying 5 mil for someone who literally has 0 is bad. Its not like he's making up for it in assists, producing points at a good 3rd liner's rate. I get he's a defensive center but 5 mil is 2nd liners money, and as a 2C you have to be able to get some points too

I love Danault...but I'm pretty sure he's played himself out of that contract...Especially in the Flat Cap Era.

If he gets 5,000,000 expect a 3-4 year deal.

David Krejci doesn't have a goal either. Ryan Johansen has 1, Jack Eichel has 2. Lots of unjustified hate on Danault's lack of goals on here, as if goals totals alone meant something.

That'd be even better for MTL. It ends when he's 31 and exiting his prime.

Johansen has been trash, Eichel has not been nearly as good as he should be. You've just pointed out heavily underachieving players on underachieving teams

And I wouldn't pay Krejci 5Mx6yrs either lol

He turned down 5 million because he thought he was closer to a Kevin Hayes pay day, with that definetly off the table and maybe only 3-5 teams actually able to offer him 5 more but none of them actually willing to give him 5. His market has sunk down to far an I would expect a short 2-3 year deal in the 3-4 million range. Allows him to get one last chance at a pay day when the flat cap is over and gives the team flexibility

Andrew Copp is the exact same player, maybe better than Danault IMO and he’s not even going to get close to 5 mill. 5 mill for a 3c is crazy LOL

When you look at the UFA center market, and at the current needs of centers throughout the league, I wouldn't be surprised to see him sign 5x6. After RNH, who will likely re-sign in Edmonton, who else is a better option? Getzlaf? Stastny? Krejci? Johansson? Stepan? Danault will be a hot commodity at the deadline if his asks are reasonable.

That's funny thinking Copp is actually better than Danault. Has he been centering a top 10 line in hockey for the last three years too? What's crazy is thinking that Danault is a 3C.

Danault could be a mid to low end 2C, but as it stands in MTL, he’s a 3C and them paying him 5m would be crazy. I understand MTL kind of has 2 second lines, but still the cap is flat. Danault will likely take a shorter deal with less aav then cash in once cap rises. Danault is a benefactor of his line mates, while he’s solid defensively, he doesn’t do much in the O-zone. I never said Danault is bad, just that he’s not worth 6x5.

1-Danault is not the 3C, as there is no clear top line and get more or less equivalent ice time.
2-He's clearly not the product of his linemates, he's far from being that. It's a line made up of 3 2nd liners who were thrown together and Danault is centering this line, who is statistically one of the best in the league since it's been formed. He's also a solid playmaker who's been given much more room to play offensively since Julien's departure. There are some guys who are just not finishers, but good playmakers like David Krejci or Nick Backstrom. Flat cap or not, look at the UFA options at center and tell me seriously that Danault won't get paid.

I don’t think any of the FA’s will get paid LOL, maybe Hamilton and Hall but that’s it IMO

Danault isn't scoring right now, he is losing all his faceoffs and his shorthanded play has slipped a lot this season. He is officially useless to the habs, trade him at the deadline, you can easily find a third line center in free agency for less than 5M.

Danault was been 1C in Montreal for 3 years now.

yeah and Montreal had been looking for a 1C for years until Suzuki came around...

Josh Gorges is an interesting point. He was universally loved and valuable at a $1.1mm cap hit (appropriate for a young non goal scorer). Then he got paid on his UFA deal at a $3.9mm cap hit and we had to trade him 2 years into the contract because he was overpaid.

The goal scorer (Ovechkin) that you mentioned? Never traded.

If non goal scoring centers were worth a $5mm cap hit, then we’d be able to see example across the league. I’ll save you the trouble from trying to find one, they don’t exist.

David Krejci. Ryan Johansen has 1. Jack Eichel has 2. I'm not looking for an argument here, we've had this conversation at least three times.

1 year deal at that cap hit, max. Otherwise there’s no way to sign Suzuki and Romanov the following year without jettisoning multiple key pieces. This team only really works with strong depth.

Honestly, Danault’s lack of goal scoring this year doesn’t bother me that much. It just hilites (somewhat spectacularly) that he’s never been a goal scorer. The players you mentioned have either scored 30+ or have been consistent 20 goal scorers.

There really isn’t an argument for both sides here. Danault has never scored more than 13.

Maybe even just Hamilton. Looking at the list of contracts given out to forwards since Covid started, this has probably got to be the worst time in history to be a UFA forward.

Tbf, the UFA forward group was not particularly impressive. Hoffman played his hand for too long and was only interested in a handful teams, Dadonov got more or less fair value, Tyler Toffoli was available until day 3 for some reason. That's pretty much it.

I agree, flat cap and covid will be a huge factor. Think we’ll see smaller term deals for a lot of players. Maybe one or two long term deals to Hamilton and hall.

Good comparable re: Copp. Also doesn’t score much but is still an extremely useful player. What do you think his cap hit projects to be as a UFA?