Phillip Danault traded: a journalist from The Athletic opens the door

For the past three years, the Los Angeles Kings have been losing in the first round of the playoffs. And every time, it’s been against the Edmonton Oilers.

The California club is trying to get its head above water after several years of not making the playoffs, but now the team is incapable of winning the playoffs.

Did you know that the last time L.A. won a series was in 2014, the year of the second Stanley Cup?

All this to say that the pressure is on the players to win and on management to finally have a club that plays up to its talent when it counts. It really is time for the Kings to take the next step.

But what if the team falls apart this year? There’s no Pierre-Luc Dubois to trade, after all…

The question was put to Eric Stephens, a California-based reporter for The Athletic, and he wondered, without his name being raised by a reader, what the future might hold for Danault should the club ever falter.

Christian Matte of the La Poche Bleue website also broached the subject.

Part 2 of the @LAKings mailbag. As promised.#GOKINGSGO https://t.co/6XFwICcY6r

– Eric Stephens (@icemancometh) July 18, 2024

Obviously, things would have to be really, really bad for the Kings to trade Danault, who is still under contract for $5.5 million over the next three years. Especially since he’s giving his bosses their money’s worth…

But the journalist opened the door anyway.

Anze Kopitar should finish his career with the Kings, but are you having conversations [if the season goes badly] with Drew Doughty and Phillip Danault to see if they’d rather play for a contending team? – Eric Stephens

However, the journalist doesn’t seem to think that the Quebecer would be easy to trade because of his contract… but that the rising ceiling would help the Kings if need be.

I don’t expect to see Danault traded at this point in his contract, but it’s fascinating to see a credible source open the door. It just goes to show that the Kings really aren’t playing well enough.