Good call on Nugent-Hopkins. Shame on me for not catching it. But, yeah, point still stands: He's not a realistic option.
I'm not prepared to die on this Danault hill. Or maybe I am. I don't know. I may be overselling Danault a bit, but I think you and @nyqvististhefuture are undervaluing him a bit. Dude's done yeoman's work as a 1C on some offense-starved Habs teams. He's a centerman's centerman. A possession beast. A playmaker who makes his linemates better. A guy who can handle tough matchups.
It May Be Time for the Montreal Canadiens to Move Phillip Danault [Last Word On Hockey]
Check out the CF% and the corresponding Zone Starts splits:
That's beautiful. That's crack cocaine. I want that centering our second line. Imagine if Bertuzzi-Larkin-Mantha could be freed up *even just a little bit* more to spend *even just a little bit* more time beating up on other teams' secondary and tertiary players.
Filppula sucks. He's a 4C, if that. Nielsen didn't score this season, but his usage was absolutely brutal, so he gets a bit of a pass from me -- but, even so, he's absolutely not a 2C. Glendening is not a 2C. I'm not expecting Veleno to become a really solid 2C within the next couple of years. Danault makes us better now, gives us a 1-2 punch at center for two or three years (if we can extend him), takes some of the pressure off of our prospect centermen (if we extend him).
Maybe the ask for Danault is way too high. In which case, forget it. Maybe the ask is reasonable but he doesn't want to agree to an immediate extension, in which case he's possibly just a rental. In which case, forget it. All I'm really saying is that Yzerman should be kicking these tires.