The Habs lose Phillip Danault...

It was mentioned by Pierre LeBrun on Insider Trading on TSN last week, but it seems truer than ever now: the Montreal Canadiens are expected to let centre Phillip Danault to hit the open market tomorrow. His agent Don Meeham confirmed it to Richard Labbe of La Presse this morning. 

It sounds like the previous offer that was made by GM Marc Bergevin at the start of the season, a six-year, $30 million deal, is not longer on the table. Last week, Danault put his house in a Montreal suburb on sale… 

Dominoes are falling quickly. 

On Tuesday, former NHLer and now radio host Georges Laraque reported that Danault had a deal in place with the Golden Knights. 

Danault was a key reason the Habs made it this far in the postseason, all the way to the Stanley Cup final, which they lost in five games to the Tampa Bay Lightning. He is coming off a terrific defensive performance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and could get interesting offers on the free market, there is no doubt about that. 

Many fans expected the only Quebecois for the Canadiens who took part in the postseason to want to stay in Montreal. However, the Habs are projected to have just over $14 million in cap space this off-season, according to CapFriendly. They could have an additional $7.86 million to spend if Shea Weber lands on long-term injured reserve.

As the Habs showed at the NHL Draft on Friday by selecting defenseman Logan Mailloux, who himself had renounced himself from the draft after he was charged in Sweden for sharing a nude photo of someone he had consensual sex with. We can say we never what move comes next when we talk about GM Marc Bergevin… 

Danault has recorded 55 goals and 199 points in 392 games with the Canadiens and Chicago Blackhawks, who selected 26th overall back in 2011. He had a tough start to the shortened season as he endured a 24-game goal drought, but explained that his contract situation was a distraction. 

Now, it is on everyone’s mind in Montreal with free agency opening tomorrow at noon.