If you've been keeping an ear to the ground around the Los Angeles Kings' facility lately, the noise has shifted. What was once the steady hum of a team relying on its defensive backbone has turned into the distinct, uncomfortable buzz of trade chatter. And at the center of that storm - literally and figuratively - is Phillip Danault. It's not often you see a player of Danault's pedigree surface in rumors this early in the winter.
I take a lot of pride in it because at the start of the season I wasn't sure I would end the season there, I thought there may have to be adjustment at some point because from lack of trust or whatever. I'm just proud of myself for making it all the way through the year and actually achieving a goal that I kind of set out to do, and that's being a Major League shortstop, and say I did it and I'm good at it.