Carolina Hurricanes' decision to acquire Phillip Danault for forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi falls through as LA Kings reject trade decision

Former LA Kings center Philip Danault has been recently traded to the Montreal Canadiens in a major NHL trade this week. With the trade, the center will again play for the Montreal Canadiens, where he played from 2015-16 through 2020-21. This is a homecoming for Danault, who hails from Victoriaville, PQ, which is less than two hours from Montreal. However, before Danault’s trade to the Canadiens, the Carolina Hurricanes planned to trade the center defensive player.

As per reports, the Carolina Hurricanes previously decided to acquire veteran center Phillip Danault from the Los Angeles Kings, but the proposal was rejected by Los Angeles, according to NHL insider David Pagnotta. The Los Angeles Kings had conversations regarding Phillip Danault with the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes actually wanted to acquire him in place of their player Jesperi Kotkaniemi.

Hurricanes' decision to acquire Philip Danault falls through as LA Kings deal with Montreal Canadiens

Carolina Hurricanes had their sights set on acquiring Philip Danault. However, this could not come true as the LA Kings declined their trade proposal, as reported by NHL Insider David Pagnotta. Reports suggest that Carolina's offer included forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi, a former third-overall pick whose lengthy contract has raised eyebrows around the league.

As per reports, the Kings were reportedly worried about Kotkaniemi's $4.82 million annual salary for the duration of his contract, which runs for three more seasons after this one. This concern ultimately led the Kings to decline Hurricanes' offer, and support Montreal Canadiens with the trade.


Presently, the savings would have been negligible at best, given the fact that Kotkaniemi is earning roughly $680K less than Danault for this year and next, which wouldn’t even have been enough for Los Angeles to recall another player making the league minimum salary if they needed.

Additionally, since Kotkaniemi’s contract runs three years longer than Danault’s, the Kings would have added around $14.5MM in future costs.

If we consider their performance, Kotkaniemi has two goals and six points in 20 games for the Hurricanes this season, whereas Danault registered five assists in 30 games before the trade. Furthermore, Danault has the edge in faceoff percentage and on-ice save percentage at even strength, which are critical metrics for supposed middle-six centers.

This prompted the Hurricanes to view Danault as a potential upgrade at the center position, as they are actively managing their roster under long-term salary cap constraints. While the trade proposal did not come true as expected, however, it could be ascertained that Carolina will continue engagement in trade negotiations in the upcoming days as well.

Also read: “I felt helpless”: Phillip Danault opens up about his trade from LA Kings to the Montreal Canadiens in a major NHL trade | NHL News - The Times of India


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