Revisiting the Canadiens’ Phillip Danault Trades

The Montreal Canadiens have made plenty of memorable trades over the past decade, but few provided as much value as the deal that originally brought Phillip Danault to Montreal.

Danault’s story with the Canadiens is especially interesting because it ultimately came full circle. Montreal acquired him from the Chicago Blackhawks in 2016, watched him develop into one of the NHL’s better two-way centres, lost him in free agency five years later, and eventually brought him back in a trade in December 2025. With Danault once again wearing a Canadiens jersey, it is worth revisiting the original deal and just how well it worked out for Montreal.

Canadiens Acquired Danault for Weise and Fleischmann

On February 26, 2016, the Canadiens traded Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann to the Blackhawks in exchange for Danault and a second-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft.

Even at the time, it was an interesting move for Montreal. Chicago was preparing for another Stanley Cup run and added two veteran forwards who could immediately contribute to its lineup. The Canadiens, meanwhile, were going in the opposite direction and turned two pending unrestricted free agents into future assets.

What nobody could have known was just how lopsided the trade would eventually become. Danault was still only 23 years old and had yet to establish himself as a full-time NHL player. A former first-round pick of the Blackhawks in 2011, he had recorded just five points in 30 games with Chicago before the trade.

Montreal gave him an opportunity, and he quickly took advantage of it. Considering what Danault became and what the second-round pick eventually produced, there is a strong argument that this was the best trade of Marc Bergevin’s tenure as Canadiens general manager.

Danault Became a Crucial Piece in Montreal

Danault developed into significantly more than a depth player with the Canadiens. His offensive numbers were never superstar-level, but that wasn’t what made him so valuable. Danault became one of Montreal’s most trusted forwards because of his defensive game, faceoff ability and capacity to play against the opposition’s best players every night.

He also provided legitimate offensive production. His best season came in 2018-19 when he recorded 12 goals and 53 points in 81 games. The following season, he added 47 points in 71 games. His importance became even more obvious during Montreal’s run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final. Danault was constantly given difficult defensive assignments, going head-to-head against some of the best offensive players in the league. While others carried more of the scoring load, his ability to neutralize opposing stars was a major reason the Canadiens went as far as they did.

Danault wasn’t the only valuable piece Montreal received in the trade. The 2018 second-round pick acquired from Chicago became Alexander Romanov, whom the Canadiens selected 38th overall. Romanov eventually established himself as a legitimate NHL defenseman before Montreal used him as part of another major trade in 2022.

Chicago, meanwhile, received very little long-term value from the deal. Weise recorded just one assist in 15 regular-season games and one goal during the playoffs before leaving as a free agent that summer. Fleischmann finished the 2015-16 season with the Blackhawks and never played another NHL game afterward.

Montreal essentially traded two rentals for several seasons of Danault and a second-round pick that became another NHL player.

Danault’s Canadiens Story Eventually Came Full Circle

The disappointing part for Montreal came during the 2021 offseason. After helping the Canadiens reach the Stanley Cup Final, Danault became an unrestricted free agent and signed a six-year contract worth $5.5 million annually with the Los Angeles Kings.

It looked like the end of his Canadiens story, but more than four years later, Montreal brought him back. In December 2025, the Canadiens reacquired Danault from Los Angeles in exchange for a second-round pick. The Kings later used that selection to draft Liam Lefebvre.

That means there is now another chapter to evaluate. It is obviously far too early to determine how the second Danault trade will age. Lefebvre is only beginning his development, and the Canadiens brought Danault back at a much different stage of his career than when they first acquired him in 2016.

Still, nothing that happens with the second trade should change how successful the first one was. Montreal turned Weise and Fleischmann into a player who became one of its most important forwards for five seasons and helped the organization reach a Stanley Cup Final. The Canadiens also received the pick that became Romanov, who eventually became a valuable trade asset himself. Almost a decade later, the original Danault trade remains one of the clearest wins of the Bergevin era, and with Danault back in Montreal, his connection to the Canadiens continues.