NHL Rumors: No contract talk for Phillip Danault, Rangers trade talk, and more

Originally posted on The Daily Goal Horn
By Anthony Scultore | Last updated 11/25/20

The Montreal Canadiens traded away Max Domi to move Phillip Danault, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi up the center depth chart. However, when it comes to Danault the two sides have not had any contract extension discussions.

NHL Rumors: Canadiens and Danault have not talked new deal

“At this moment, there are no negotiations,” Danault said in a recent Zoom interview. The 27 year-old is in the final year of his contract and is looking for increased responsibility. However, he won’t let the lack of communication distract him from having a strong season.

“I’ll be at camp. The Canadiens gave me a three-year contract two years ago, and I still have a year to play with the Canadiens,” he explained. “After that, we’ll see. I really have the intention of honouring my contract and then, after that, we’ll see what the future holds.”

You can expect the Canadiens to do whatever it takes to keep Danault in Montreal.

Rangers and Penguins talked Kravtsov trade?

In a recent Vitali Kravtsov interview conducted by Russia’s Sport-Express a question about trade rumors came up. According to the report, the Rangers pick was mentioned in a deal to Pittsburgh.

The Rangers 2018 first round selection knew nothing of the rumors and therefore had nothing to say about it. So where did this even come from?

As far as I’ve heard and researched, there is not a single mention of Vitali Kravtsov in trade rumors to Pittsburgh. That is not to say that at some point, the Penguins and Rangers didn’t discuss potential trades and Jim Rutherford asked if Kravtsov was available.

There were some rumblings prior to the Rangers signing Tony DeAngelo of him being moved. Vegas, Anaheim, and even Pittsburgh were mentioned. It is possible that during those discussions his name may have come up.

Currently the Rangers are not looking to trade Kravtsov and will see what their first round pick can do before jettisoning him anywhere.

Latest NHL season update

A small update with regard to the stalemate between the NHL and NHLPA.

The two leaders had had nearly daily dialogue most of the off-season, so this communication stalemate is noteworthy for that reason. But again, I think they will see a way through this eventually.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) November 25, 2020