Canadiens: Brendan Gallagher Finally Gets Monkey Off His Back

The Montreal Canadiens continue their impressive series of wins, this time beating the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 and guess what? Brendan Gallagher finally scored!

The monkey is finally off his back. Gallagher scored his first goal in 19 games and on the Power Play no less. Even Nick Suzuki made sure the proverbial primate was off Gally’s back once and for all.

Gallagher is having a rough season thus far. Despite strong efforts at getting the rebound in the slot, which he has made his calling card throughout his career, Gallagher has an underwhelming score line of 5 goals and 9 assists for 14 points in 38 games.

Furthermore, and maybe this is a result of frustration, but Gallagher also totals 47 penalty minutes this season. He’s on pace of surpassing his career high of 73 penalty established in his first full season with the Canadiens in 2013-14. In his NHL career, Gallagher has only surpassed 40 penalty minutes twice. In 13-14 as well as in 2018-19 with 49, which happens to be the season he attained a career high in goals (33) and score 30 goals for a second consecutive season.

The situation regarding Gallagher is murky at best. It was not long ago that everyone clamored for Gallagher to become the next Montreal Canadiens captain. Now it seems that title will likely go to either Nick Suzuki or Joel Edmundson, depending on which direction the team decides to go.

Brendan Gallagher is set to become 30 in May, which is hardly old. However, years of abuse trying to make space in front of the net in which he was subjected to all the slashing, hooking, punches and whatnot, it takes a toll on your body.

On the surface, Gallagher can still contribute to any team if given an intelligent role to play. His presence in the locker room and his tenacious charisma on the ice makes him an asset. Not to mention, he is still a very popular player, especially with kids. Where things get complicated however, is the albatross of a contract that former GM Marc Bergevin handed him in October, 2020.

Gallagher is currently in the first of a 6 year contract worth $39 million and contains a 6 team no trade list. His $6.5 million cap hit is quite heavy for someone who has a long list of injuries. Where his contract becomes complicated to move, is the actual salary Gallagher will be receiving. According to CapFriendly, this season, he is paid $5 million and then it just keeps climbing. Gallagher will receive $6.5 million in 22-23, $8 million in 23-24, $9 million in 24-25, $6.5 in 25-26 and finally $4 million in 26-27.

Unless Gallagher finds the fountain of youth, I doubt anyone would profit from paying $9 million to Brendan Gallagher. Buying his contract out is not an option at this point, as the team would have to absorb a $2,266,667 cap penalty for the next 9 seasons.

Now however, isn’t the time to give up on this warrior. This is a passionate player and character who not only hates losing, but is extremely hard on himself when he doesn’t perform. That power play goal against Edmonton can only alleviate tons of pressure and hopefully give him some wings.

Martin St. Louis has clearly not given up on #11. He still uses the right winger on average around 15 minutes a night and sees both powerplay and penalty kill minutes. His presence on the ice and especially in the locker room is important for players such as Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki.

If Gallagher can continue to regain form and become the annual 20 goal scorer we know he can be, then fans would be willing to look away from his contract. This is something new Director of Hockey Development Adam Nicholas will make sure of. This is a new department that’s going to make sure that not only young players such as Caufield, Suzuki, Poehling and Evans keep developing, but will also make sure careers like the ones Gallagher and Josh Anderson have aren’t cut short because of their style of play.