Veteran Brendan Gallagher was barely used this season with the Montreal Canadiens, and he said he'll be moving on. Could the Vancouver Canucks be where Gallagher revitalizes his career?
In the wake of the Montreal Canadiens' season ending in the Eastern Conference final, beloved Canadiens right winger Brendan Gallagher spoke about his future in Montreal.
Gallagher made it clear – a return to the Habs next season is not going to happen.
"It's pretty clear, I'll be kind of moving on here," Gallagher told reporters Monday morning during Montreal's dressing room clean-out day, three days after the Canadiens were eliminated by the Carolina Hurricanes.
Gallagher still has one year left on his contract at $6.5 million. With due respect, acquiring a veteran at that salary who generated only seven goals and 23 points in 77 games this past season isn't something most teams are looking to do.
Whether the Habs buy out Gallagher's contract or find a taker for him in a move that works with his six-team no-trade list, it's obvious his time in Montreal is over.
However, in the right situation, the 34-year-old Gallagher may have something left to offer at the NHL level.
The days of Gallagher scoring 30 goals, which last happened in 2018-19 when he had 33 goals in 82 games, are long gone. But Gallagher did put up 21 goals in 82 games in 2024-25.
"There's more in the tank, obviously," Gallagher said. "I would love (to return to Montreal), but I guess my time has come, and they've moved on. And for me, as a player, I'm looking forward to getting back to what I do."
Gallagher played only three of Montreal's 19 playoff games this spring, and in the regular season, he averaged a career-worst 12:21 of ice time. Canadiens coach Martin St-Louis chose to hand out the bulk of minutes to the Habs' younger players, so the writing was on the wall for Gallagher for months, if not the entire year.
And if Montreal doesn't trade him, buy him out or agree on a mutual contract termination, Gallagher will likely be a regular healthy scratch for that final season he's under contract.
But it doesn't sound like the Canadiens are going to go scorched-earth with Gallagher. If he's speaking out the way he did Monday, Gallagher no doubt has spoken with Habs GM Kent Hughes about moving on from the team. And he's given enough to Montreal to be afforded the basic respect of finding a new home for himself.
That's partially why the Vancouver Canucks stand out as such a good place to continue his career.
Gallagher was born in Alberta, but he considers Vancouver his home. He said Monday Vancouver "would be a great place" to play.
Gallagher is a respected veteran who sets the right culture for a team. When the Canucks are embarking on a full rebuild, having Gallagher in the dressing room could help not just Vancouver's young players but even other veterans, such as center Elias Pettersson.
In the right situation, Gallagher could use his 911 games of regular-season experience and 79 games of playoff experience to help a young team build for the future. That's why the Canucks are being suggested as a potential destination for him beyond just being his home.
It may take Montreal eating some of Gallagher's salary to consummate a trade. Depending on what value could come back in a trade, it may be even better for the Canadiens to buy out the final year of Gallagher's contract, save $2,666,667 next season and pay just $1,333,333 in 2027-28.
But a team like Vancouver could look at Gallagher's accomplishments and want him to come in and set a professional tone for an organization. If he even has a scoring resurgence on a rebuilding team that will give him more minutes, he could be more valuable to a Cup contender by next year's trade deadline as well.
Gallagher doesn't have a Stanley Cup on his resume, and at this point in his career, he isn't looked at as a difference-maker on the ice. But he's not lost all of his value. He knows a change is coming for him, and he must prove wherever he goes that he's an effective depth veteran every team should want.
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