Montreal reportedly has plan for Danault, although it won't ensure he stays

Phillip Danault of the Montreal Canadiens is unquestionably one of the best defensive forwards in the league right now. He further cemented that status during this year's playoffs as he did a fantastic job of shutting down opponent's top scorers night after night. There's no doubt Habs GM Marc Bergevin would love to keep Danault around. However, with the 28 year old set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 28th and having reportedly already rejected an offer before the latest season began, that may not be possible. That said, TSN's Pierre LeBrun has said Bergevin has a plan.

According to LeBrun, Montreal is prepared to let Danault test the free agent market in the hopes that he won't find the offer he's looking for and will eventually decide to re-sign with the Canadiens. While there's no guarantee, it may be a winning strategy. The offer that Danault reportedly turned down before the beginning of the year was $5 million per season for six years. In the current flat cap situation in the NHL, that may be hard to top.

Danault's defensive abilities are top notch. His offense, however, leaves something to be desired at the $5 million mark. After two seasons of putting up 53 and 47 points respectively, Danault managed just 24 points in 53 games this season.

For a team that's looking to contend for the Stanley Cup, Danault would make an excellent third line centre with his abilities to shut down top scorers. However, $5 million per year is a high price to pay for a third line player right now. If this is truly what Danault is looking for, there's a very good possibility he won't find it outside of Montreal.

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