Phillip Danault was traded to the Montreal Canadiens by the Los Angeles Kings on Friday for a second-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
The draft pick was previously acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The 32-year-old forward has five points (five assists) in 30 games this season. He has one season remaining on a six-year, $33 million contract ($5.5 million average annual value) he signed with the Kings on July 28, 2021.
Danault previously played for the Canadiens for six seasons, with 194 points (54 goals, 140 assists) in 360 games from 2016-21. Montreal general manager Kent Hughes said Danault is expected to join the team for its game at the Boston Bruins on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; NESN, TSN2, RDS).
“What we’re hoping he’s going to bring is experience,” Hughes said on Saturday before the Canadiens hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins at Bell Centre (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, CITY, SNE, SN-PIT). “He’s been here before. I think people in this market know what he is as a hockey player.
“We don’t think the season he’s having right now is indicative of the quality of the player that he is, and we’re hoping coming back here in Montreal he’s reenergized and regains the form he had here in Montreal and L.A. before that.”
A first-round pick by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2011 NHL Draft, Danault has 399 points (125 goals, 274 assists) in 741 games for the Blackhawks, Canadiens and Kings. He also has 28 points (nine goals, 19 assists) in 62 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
“Phil had some great seasons, some great moments here with us,” Los Angeles coach Jim Hiller said on Saturday. “I think we’re grateful for his time here. Well spent.
“This season was a bit of an anomaly; didn’t go as well for him or as well for our expectations. But we’re happy to see him go to Montreal, where he’s played before, where he had great success, and we wish him nothing but the best.”
NHL.com independent correspondents Sean Farrell and Dan Greenspan contributed to this report