Danault, 28, helped lead the Montreal Canadiens to the Stanley Cup Final last season with 24 points (5-19=24) and a plus-9 rating during 53 regular season games and four points (1-3=4) in 22 games during the postseason. He led all Montreal forwards during the regular-season in shorthanded time on ice and shorthanded time on ice per game. In addition, he led all NHL forwards in shorthanded time on ice and faceoff wins during the playoffs.
The 6-1, 200-pound center has appeared in 392 career regular-season NHL games with the Canadiens and Chicago Blackhawks, totaling 199 points (55-144=199) and a plus-44 rating while also adding nine points (2-7=9) in 28 postseason appearances. Since being acquired by Montreal from Chicago during the 2015-16 season, Danault led all Montreal players in plus/minus (+47), faceoff wins (3,083) and faceoff win percentage (53.8%). He also ranked third in shorthanded time on ice (first among forwards, 711:25) and 12th in shorthanded time on ice per game (second among forwards).
Selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round (26th overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Danault spent his first four professional seasons within the Blackhawks organization. In total, he registered five points (1-4=5) in 32 NHL games for Chicago while also registering 68 points (20-48=68) in 160 AHL games with the Rockford IceHogs.
The Victoriaville, Quebec native represented Team Canada during the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship, posting one point (0-1=1) and a plus-2 rating in six games to help Canada reach the bronze-medal game where they fell to Russia in overtime.
