The Habs locked up the last of their restricted free agents on Tuesday, signing forward Phillip Danault to a two year, one way deal reportedly worth a total of $1.825 million.
Danault was acquired by the Canadiens late in February as the key piece of the trade that sent Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann to Chicago just prior to the trade deadline.
The former first round pick played in 21 games with the Habs, picking up three goals and two assists while averaging 12:38 per game. Before being acquired, he was a third liner with the Blackhawks, collecting a goal and four helpers while logging 12:51 per game.
Earlier this offseason, GM Marc Bergevin noted that Danault’s presence on the roster helped make Lars Eller expendable so it would seem likely that they view Danault as someone that’s going to see some time on the third line in 2016-17. Sending him to the minors won’t be an option either as Danault will have to clear waivers.
Danault becomes the 49th player under contract for next season, though three of those are expected to slide so they essentially have used 46 of their allotted 50 contracts. Cap-wise, the Habs have roughly $2 million left to spend with a full 23-man roster (the cap sites out there show a lower number but also have more than the max 23 players on their projected rosters). Here is their updated cap situation for next season with a 23-player roster.
The breakdown of the deal is as follows:
2016-17: $875,000
2017-18: $950,000
As a result, his qualifying offer at the end of the contract will be $997,500 (105% of his 2017-18 salary).
Danault’s Stats:
