Minooka Meatball wrote:
While there are many reasons to hate on Stan for some of his boneheaded moves, I wouldn’t hold up Danault as a banner reason. Just because the Canadiens are finally contending for a Cup doesn’t mean it is because of Danault’s contributions (24 points in 53 regular season games, and 3 points in 17 playoff games? Come on…).
Danault's value comes in his ability to shut down elite opponents. This season he was constantly matched against McDavid, Matthews, and Sheifele. He shut down Matthews/Marner, Winnipeg's top line, and Stone and Co so far these playoffs. Danault is a 40-50 pt, elite shutdown center. Looking just at his counting stats is severely undermining Danault's value to a team.