Montreal Canadiens heart and soul winger Brendan Gallagher left the Habs last game with injury and did not return.
It did not look good as he was hit in the hand with a slap shot by Habs defender Alex Romanov but nothing was confirmed immediately about his injury.
The team announced earlier today that Gallagher has a broken thumb and will miss at least six weeks before he is able to return to the ice.
That is a long timetable for the team to be without one of their best and certainly their most consistent workhorse. Gallagher brings great energy every game and drags his teammates into the fight when they need a boost. He also brings plenty of offence, as he is tied for second on the team with 14 goals and fourth in points with 23.
A six week recovery period isn’t surprising for a broken thumb, and it essentially means Gallagher will be out for the rest of the regular season. The Canadiens last regular season game is scheduled for five weeks from today and the NHL Playoffs are tentatively set to begin two days later.
That means, not only is he out for the rest of the regular season, but the Habs will likely have to start the postseason without Gallagher as well.
That is obviously not good news, but the timeframe does mean the Canadiens can put him on long term injury reserve and use his cap space. This gives general manager Marc Bergevin the possibility of going out and acquiring a player that makes $3.75 million without interfering with his current cap structure at all.
Of course, it would be better if Gallagher were healthy and able to play, but if he can come back at the start of the playoffs, and the Habs add another player to the lineup, they could be even deeper than expected when the postseason does begin.