Brendan Gallagher might have elected to move on from the Montreal Canadiens, but Montreal isn't ready to move on from him.
On Sunday night, at the Cummings Centre, Montreal Canadiens’ alternate captain Brendan Gallagher was named the sports personality of the year. Each year, the Cummings Centre Foundation honours an athlete with the title for their community involvement. Many former Habs have received the honour over the years: Yvan Cournoyer, Larry Robinson, Guy Lafleur, and Carey Price, to name a few.
While Gallagher’s play on the ice has faded this last season, he remained active in the community and at fundraising events. The winger has lost his grandfather to prostate cancer and, more recently, his mother to brain cancer, so cancer research hits home for him.
The Gazette’s Stu Cowan attended the event on Sunday and shared a video of the rousing applause Gallagher received when his name was announced as the winner of the award. It’s clear that while the player has decided it’s time to turn the page on Montreal because of his limited role and the fact that he barely saw any action in the postseason, Montreal, the fans and the city aren’t ready to move on from the veteran.
In an ideal world, Gallagher would have had one last game at the Bell Center where he could have received a huge ovation, a thank you for services rendered while still wearing the Sainte-Flanelle, but it didn’t happen that way.
That’s not to say Canadiens’ fans won’t get the opportunity to show some love to him when he returns in a new uniform. It won’t be quite the same, but it’s the next best thing. Those who were in attendance at the Bell Centre when P.K. Subban returned as a member of the Nashville Predators will be able to tell you how emotionally charged the building was, and I dare say it will be even more intense when Gallagher’s turn comes.
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