Fan Steps Up With Gift For Gallagher
Brendan Gallagher - Photo credit: Bob Frid - Imagn ImagesTo say Lucie Lachance is a big Brendan Gallagher fan would be an understatement. The Gatineau-based Montreal Canadiens fan is always looking for new pieces to add to her collection, which features several Gallagher game-used items such as sticks, jerseys, and gloves.
A couple of years ago, when NHL teams were still allowed to design specialty jerseys and wear them in the warmup, Lachance bid on Gallagher’s Hockey Fights Cancer lavender jersey and won it for $1,500.
The collectible, a very special item, features a tag at the bottom left of the jersey that reads “I fight for” and a line on which Gallagher has written Mom. Earlier this week, the Canadiens alternate captain announced his mother, Della Gallagher, had lost her battle with brain cancer after giving it her all for over three and a half years.
Upon hearing the news, Lachance decided the jersey had to be reunited with its rightful owner, Gallagher himself. She took to X and posted her offer, tagging the player and Canadiens’ VP of communications, Chantal Machabee, in the hope the message would reach her favorite players.
Thirteen hours after she made the post, it had nearly 4,000 impressions and over 150 comments and was reposted by over 300 Canadiens fans and well-wishers. The message reached Gallagher, who relied:
That is incredibly kind of you, thoughtful and really appreciated! How about a jersey swap on the ice April 16th?
Lachance received a message from the Canadiens’ X account and was offered tickets to the game after the final buzzer. When the winners of the annual “Jersey of Our Backs” contest make their way onto the ice, she will exchange the Hockey Fight Cancer jersey for the one Gallagher will be wearing that night.
We got another example of how social media can be used positively instead of for disinformation and intimidation. This is not the first time Habs fans have taken to X to support their team; after the Canadiens drafted David Reinbacher in 2023, some fans, disappointed with the selection of another defenseman, were not kind to their new prospect, and one fan decided to make up a book of positive message from fans. She then asked the Canadiens if there was a way she could get the book to Reinbacher, and days later, she met Reinbacher to hand over the book in person.
Montreal often gets criticized for being a tough market to play in, with all the media attention, scrutiny, and pressure, but the flip side of that is the love this passionate market has for its players. Lachance’s act of kindness is the latest example of fan's love for this team and its players. If the players are a tight-knit group, so are the fans, and that should count for something.
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