With half an hour remaining before the holiday roster freeze, the Kings dealt Phillip Danault back from whence he came, to the Montreal Canadiens.
In isolation, Kings general manager Ken Holland got what should be a draft pick somewhere in the 30s amid a deep prospect crop in return, while shedding $11 million in cap space across this season and next. He also did right by Danault, relocating him back to his home province, and on an unconventional timeline, per his request.
But more broadly, the deal exacerbates significant issues with the Kings’ flailing center quality as well as their inability to attract and retain players.
First and foremost, this trade was an acquiescence to Danault’s requests. Despite Danault’s deficiencies – “Unfortunately, Phil hasn’t scored a goal this year; he makes $5.5 million this year and next year,” Holland remarked – the Kings had no impetus to thin out their suspect depth down the middle.
Even without scoring, Danault has helped the Kings outduel teams 14-9 at even strength when he’s on the ice, a stronger proportion than their narrow 52-48 margin with him resting. During his four-game absence leading up to the trade, they were outscored 8-4 five-on-five, and during four playoff series against Edmonton, all losses, the Kings beat the Oilers 19-10 when Danault was on the ice at five-on-five. Without him, they were outgunned 48-30.
“Obviously, (Danault) was a core part of this team all last year and into the playoff series with Edmonton,” Holland said. “I think part of it is the growth of Quinton Byfield. (Anže Kopitar) is taking a lot of faceoffs here, the last little while. I was talking to Phil and I was talking to [his agent] Allan Walsh and I thought – I knew – that they would be open for a move if it was an opportunity to have a different or bigger or better role elsewhere.”
The 38-year-old Kopitar, who is retiring at season’s end, has actually long been the Kings’ perennial leader in faceoffs including during Danault’s tenure, but, otherwise, he finally looks his age. Byfield has regressed significantly, going pointless in his past eight games and goalless in his past 15 while looking as invisible as a 6-foot-5, 230-pound man possibly can. Alex Turcotte may finally be an NHL regular, but at 24 the odds of him justifying his draft standing – No. 5 overall in 2019 – are marginal at best. Samuel Helenius has played in just seven games this season, averaging less than seven minutes of time on ice. Alex Laferriere has been part of an experiment at center, where he didn’t play in the minors or college at all.
Holland admitted he’d have preferred a roster player in return for Danault, intimating that ideally it would have been a center – one who could replace Danault in the short run and perhaps soften the blow of Kopitar’s departure – but instead took the best-available package. Sooner than later, the Kings will need another pivot.
“That’s a possibility,” said Holland, acknowledging the various factors that affect any trade. “Let’s see, let’s watch. We got cap space, we got another draft pick and I’m gonna monitor here on a regular basis to see if I need to do something.”
Perhaps the most troubling development was that Danault, a model teammate who in 2021 was keen to sign a six-year, $33 million deal as a free agent and became the Kings’ team MVP with 27 goals in his first season, wanted out at all. So, too, did 2025’s top defenseman, Vladislav Gavrikov, and the promising young rearguard Jordan Spence, and another leading blue-liner, Matt Roy, who went from seventh-rounder to key cog. Holland did manage to re-sign Adrian Kempe, but the general trend of bringing in talent and keeping it in the fold has trended negatively for the Kings.
Jim Hiller’s de-emphasis of those players as well as his near total inability to spark his squad’s offense and power play – he came to the team as a man-advantage-focused assistant – didn’t seem to trouble Holland, however.
“I would expect (Hiller) to be here the rest of the season,” Holland said. “When I look at the standings, there are three teams in the West, all in the other division, that have kind of run away and hid. The other 13 teams are all bunched up, and we’re in the middle of that.”
He added: “Do we need more offense? Everybody could use a little more offense, but Jim’s done a good job. Our team’s playing very structured and competes every night.”
Holland said he spoke with some two thirds of his contemporaries and was looking forward to further discussions at the upcoming World Junior Championships in Minnesota. He acknowledged that the Kings’ power play was dead last in the league and that the offense has taken a step back from its pace last year, when they were stuck in first gear for three quarters of the season but took off after the March 7 trade deadline.
Still, he pushed back against the notion that ennui and stagnation had set in, despite what the eye test and stats alike indicated.
“If we’re in a malaise, 25 teams are in a malaise,” Holland said. “The whole league is packed together. What are we, two or three points out of the third or fourth most points in the West?”
Surely that, coupled with his “Sure, why not?” response to a question earlier this season about the Kings being a contender, should offer fans confidence.
Perhaps after the season, a third banner will hang from the rafters. One will read “2012 Stanley Cup Champions,” another “2014 Stanley Cup Champions” and a third will declare “Two or Three Points Out Of The Third Or Fourth Most Points In The West.”