Phil Danault and the LA Kings have parted ways.
Late Friday, just hours before the NHL’s holiday trade freeze, LA GM Ken Holland sent the 32-year-old center back to Montreal in exchange for a second-round pick. Technically speaking, the pick was owned by Columbus. Where it actually slots into the 2026 NHL Draft order won’t be known until at least April.
The saga of Danault and the Kings began to quietly sour about a year ago — for reasons that still remain somewhat unclear. Yes, there has been talk behind the scene that he craved a bigger role, like he had when he first arrived in LA as an unrestricted free agent. However, the plan and vision was set from that summer in 2021 when they first inked him to a six-year, $33-million contract. Anze Kopitar was the 1C and Danault was the 2C until such time that Quinton Byfield was ready. He was always seen as insurance against the latter’s development. None of that takes anything away from Danault as a player. He has been an exceptional defensive pivot for several years with the Kings now and up until last season really saw his offensive game explode.
One year after joining the Kings, the Victoriaville native famously talked about ‘progression, not regression’ being the goal.
His intentions were clear at the time, he was all in on the LA Kings.
Something changed, somewhere along the way over the past 12 months.
Now departed for a reunion with the Canadiens, Danault leaves in the middle of perhaps his worst offensive slump. He was scoreless this season, having only collected five assists in 30 games as a member of the Kings. Overall, his tenure concludes with 349 games played for the Kings franchise, registering 70 goals and exactly 200 points. To date, he’s appeared in 741 NHL regular-season games in his career — spread over his time with the Kings (2021-25), Canadiens (2016-21) and Chicago Blackhawks (2014-16).
After this season, Danault has one year remaining (2026-27) on a contract carrying a $5.5 AAV. With that money off the books, the Kings are currently projected to have over $9M in available cap space — a number that will only grow approaching the NHL Trade Deadline in March. Essentially, Holland will have the room to add any player he is capable of acquiring in the months ahead.
Linked below are two of the most popular Danault-related articles to appear on Mayor’s Manor.
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