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Can Danault possibly be the 2nd line centre going forward?


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Is he good enough? Can he provide secondary scoring? His defensive game is sound and he's still young and a first round pick.  Plekanec is as good as gone by the trade deadline or at least that's the talk. Desharnais? Not going down that road again I hope. Do they bring someone in, find a solution from within or can Danault be the answer. He's having a good audition so far but what will he be like not playing with Patch and Rad? Inquiring minds want to know. I have my doubts but I wouldn't be surprised either because I like the kid and see potential. Just don't know if he's 2nd line material.

 

 

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In the short term, I think he can get the job done, I just haven't seen enough of the Kid to know if he can keep it up in the long term!?!?

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He has been outstanding, but yes, he seems a dodgy option as a permanent top-6 C, at least on a team with pretensions to contending. My guess is that he's more of a Chris Higgins type, i.e. a strong third liner who can move up the lineup when necessary. However, you never know...he WAS A first round pick, after all. Maybe the kid's a late bloomer. In a world where Paul Byron appears to be a legit 2nd-line winger,  anything is possible!

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To be a top six centre, you still have to be a pretty good point getter (I'm talking 35-40 points as a baseline).  Danault is on pace for that this year (barely) but he's also playing top line minutes with two high-end wingers.  He's probably not going to have that type of production with less ice time and lesser wingers as the team gets healthier. 
 

He has projected as a 3C dating back to his junior days (and he wasn't a big scorer there or in the AHL) and that's still the best spot for him I think.  Has he shown he can handle himself part-time in a bigger role when injuries strike?  Yep.  I don't think he can sustain that over a full season and beyond though.  I think he's a 25-30 point guy in a typical year that plays the penalty kill.  That would be solid production from the third line.

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17 hours ago, dlbalr said:

To be a top six centre, you still have to be a pretty good point getter (I'm talking 35-40 points as a baseline).  Danault is on pace for that this year (barely) but he's also playing top line minutes with two high-end wingers.  He's probably not going to have that type of production with less ice time and lesser wingers as the team gets healthier. 
 

He has projected as a 3C dating back to his junior days (and he wasn't a big scorer there or in the AHL) and that's still the best spot for him I think.  Has he shown he can handle himself part-time in a bigger role when injuries strike?  Yep.  I don't think he can sustain that over a full season and beyond though.  I think he's a 25-30 point guy in a typical year that plays the penalty kill.  That would be solid production from the third line.

my opinion he will be better and more effective than DD.

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1 hour ago, habs rule said:

my opinion he will be better and more effective than DD.

That's not very hard to beat!  DD has become obsolete. It's sad to say, but it's the truth!

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1 hour ago, Habsfan said:

That's not very hard to beat!  DD has become obsolete. It's sad to say, but it's the truth!

UH I think that was true for the last few years. Only Le Genius can see the value of DD.

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9 minutes ago, habs rule said:

UH I think that was true for the last few years. Only Le Genius can see the value of DD.

And Bergevin as well, who didn't seem to worry about adding another centre to replace Desharnais.

All Star Coach Therrien can only play the cards he is dealt.

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19 minutes ago, DON said:

And Bergevin as well, who didn't seem to worry about adding another centre to replace Desharnais.

All Star Coach Therrien can only play the cards he is dealt.

I cannot argue with a man when he is right. That all star coach thing makes me very afraid.

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Plekanec takes a ridiculous number of D-Zone faceoffs and penalty kill minutes.  I understand that they may want to move on from him, but if they move on from him, it is to clear the cap space to bring in another centre.  It isn't just to get rid of him, to get rid of him; cause if the cap number isn't the issue (ie you aren't using his cap space to replace him), then there is no reason to move him this year.  The only reason to move him is to get a #2 C. 

 

So if you assume he is gone by the deadline, then you should also assume a replacement is acquired.   You should also expect Danault and Mitchell's offensive numbers to drop when they take over Plekanec's current role. 

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He reminds me of when we had Lapierre play some 2C when Koivu was out the odd game and when Lang went down. He played a lot with Latendresse and looked like he could have top six chops. Of course I'm using this example as someone who didn't pan out. Danault could be the Plekanec replacement we hoped Eller could have been. Or he just ends up another Eller. Hard to say until we see him play more than 40 games.

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If Danault is brilliant, he will make sure to look at what Plekanec is doing right and work very hard to replicate that.

Having a future replacement for Plekanec's very important defensive game is a must.

And if Danauld can become that player AND get paid a little less than Plex, than we're up for probably extending our Cup window for many years. 

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Is Danault's play gonna mean we lose him in the expansion draft? I don't think we saw him as someone to protect at the season's start. 

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2 minutes ago, revvvrob said:

Is Danault's play gonna mean we lose him in the expansion draft? I don't think we saw him as someone to protect at the season's start. 

 

He will be protected.   Plekanec looks like a guy you don't protect right now. 

7 forwards

Galchenyuk
Pacioretty 
Gallagher
Byron
Danault
Radulov (assume signed, if signed after the expansion draft, we can protect someone else)
Shaw

 

 

Don't need to be protected..... Lehkonen, McCarron, Scherbak, 
 

 

 

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1 hour ago, Machine of Loving Grace said:

 

Hahaha

 

I know you don't like the guy, but be logical.  You think after last season's trade that Bergevin won't protect him?

 

I can't see that at all... 1 year after making such a move, Bergevin isn't leaving him unprotected. 

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11 hours ago, Commandant said:

 

He will be protected.   Plekanec looks like a guy you don't protect right now. 

7 forwards

Galchenyuk
Pacioretty 
Gallagher
Byron
Danault
Radulov (assume signed, if signed after the expansion draft, we can protect someone else)
Shaw

 

 

Don't need to be protected..... Lehkonen, McCarron, Scherbak, 
 

 

 

Yup, that makes alot of sense!

 

Sorry Pleky, but you gotta go! Thanks for your services.

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14 minutes ago, Habsfan said:

Yup, that makes alot of sense!

 

Sorry Pleky, but you gotta go! Thanks for your services.

Why would Vegas take him though? They want expensive veterans in their last year of contract?

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58 minutes ago, DON said:

Why would Vegas take him though? They want expensive veterans in their last year of contract?

 

He likely has value at the 2018 trade deadline. If they take him (not saying they will) that would be the reason, to flip him later for picks and prospects when the contract is about to expire and no longer cost prohibitive. 

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3 hours ago, DON said:

Why would Vegas take him though? They want expensive veterans in their last year of contract?

This.

+

They will have to reach a certain cap floor, get defensive forwards as well as any other team, veterans, disciplined players, etc.

 

Plekanec is far from being a bum and can still bring something valuable to the table. 

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21 hours ago, JoeLassister said:

This.

+

They will have to reach a certain cap floor, get defensive forwards as well as any other team, veterans, disciplined players, etc.

 

Plekanec is far from being a bum and can still bring something valuable to the table. 

$6m to the table? Wishful thinking he will be picked up...Maybe Danault they would like to have?

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