There's never a dull moment for the Montreal Canadiens' GM, and this summer, on top of trying to improve his team, he'll also have to try to accommodate Brendan Gallagher's trade request.
On Monday, soon-to-be former Montreal Canadiens’ alternate captain Brendan Gallagher’s agent, Gerry Johansson, gave an interview about the future of his client, and he confirmed that he has spoken to the Vancouver Canucks, explaining:
I think initially they expressed interest, but they have moving parts too, right? So, we’re pretty close to what the teams are doing, but you really don’t know what’s going on inside their operations, and they do have a lot of things happening; the draft, the free agents, there’s a lot coming up here. So, I do think it’s on their desk, and I do think they have interest; it’s just a matter of seeing if it can work or not, and that’s always the case. Until it’s done, it’s never done, as you guys know.
This is not surprising; we’re talking about a player who has a $6.5 million cap hit, so a trade involving that kind of money is never easily done. There’s also the matter of how Vancouver would want to proceed with the deal, whether they would want Montreal to give them a sweetener in the form of a draft pick. Or would they rather send some money the other way? Jake DeBrusk’s name has been in trade rumors for months now, but he does have a no-movement clause along with his $5.5 million cap hit, so he would have to approve a move. Furthermore, he’s a solid 40 to 50 points producer and only 29 years old, so the Canadiens would have to add other parts to get him; there’s no doubt about it.
Speaking to journalist Mike Cohen, who told him that naming him sports personality of the year was planned in the fall and they didn’t think it would be a going-away party, Gallagher had this to say about the current situation:
The situation is what it is right now. I’m incredibly thankful for the time I’ve had here, the people and the fans that support our family; it’s unbelievable, and that will never go away. I’ve no regrets, and I’ve enjoyed every day. […] It’s really become a second home, I spent so much time here, you meet so many people and just make so many connections, you just fall in love with the city and being a Hab was one of the proudest things I’ve ever done in my life. No, not planned [his comments on locker room clearout day], I’m an honest person, I just like to be honest, the question was asked, and that’s the situation that it is what it is, so it just sort of happened.
Asked if he would be able to predict for how many more years he could play, the winger stopped short of making a prediction:
No prediction, but I’m not done. All I know is that there’s more left in the tank. Who knows how far I can go, but I still feel good.
In what is no doubt a tough situation for the veteran, he can at least count on his wife Emma Fortin’s support. She was also interviewed by Cohen and had nothing but kind words for her husband:
He’s honestly never complaining, he’s a sweetheart, he’s always in a good mood, he’s a great dad, and he’s always spending a lot of time with our daughter. I was never [a hockey fan], so when we started dating, my parents bought the channel. I’m a fan of his, so if he plays, I watch it. It is really hard [to take care of their daughter alone when he’s away], but when he’s home, he’s always so hands-on, which makes it worth it. I know that it’s part of the sacrifice, but yeah, it is hard. I was born and raised in Montreal, but we’re excited for a new challenge. We are going to miss Montreal. It’s such a great city, but we’re going to come back, my family’s all here.
While the divorce between Gallagher and the Habs now seems unavoidable, it also looks like wherever he goes, he will be back one day. When it was put to him that he could be back one day either as a play-by-play guy or as a coach, Gallagher simply laughed it off and replied, “We’ll see” to end the interview. After everything the player has done for the Canadiens, we can only hope that Kent Hughes manages to find him a new home as soon as possible and that the case doesn’t drag on all through the summer.
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