After more than 900 games with the club, one of the Montreal Canadiens’ most beloved custodians appears to be on his way out.
Forward Brendan Gallagher told reporters on Monday at the team’s end-of-season locker room cleanout that he’ll be moving on from the team with which he spent the first 14 years of his career.
“It’s pretty clear I’ll be moving on here. But I’m incredibly, incredibly… I’m just very fortunate,” he said through tears.
Gallagher, 34, is on the books for one last season at $6.5 million and will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2026-27 campaign. He has a modified no-trade clause.
Selected by the organization 147th overall in the fifth round of the 2010 NHL Draft, Gallagher has spent the majority of his adult life with the Habs, suiting up for 911 regular-season games and 79 playoff games.
Never the most productive player on the scoresheet — tallying 246 goals and 241 assists over his 14 seasons — Gallagher was better known for his grit, attitude and leadership within the Canadiens’ locker room.
“He’s one of the most special humans, besides teammates, that I’ve ever got to play with,” Cole Caufield said of his veteran leader.
He was named an alternate captain in the 2015-16 season, his fourth with the team, and carried it for the rest of his time with the club.
“First and foremost, so thankful and fortunate to have spent as much time as I have here,” Gallagher said. “The fans, right from Day 1, it’s been truly a privilege to play in front of them. It’s an opportunity not a lot of players get in this league. I’ve got to do it for 14 years now. It’s not lost on me how special it was to call the Bell Centre home.
“The very first time I set foot in this organization, the management, coaches, teammates I’ve had along the years, there’s been ups and downs, but I don’t have a single regret.”
Gallagher’s last appearance in red, white and blue came on May 3 in Game 7 of Montreal’s first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He was a healthy scratch for the remainder of the Habs’ playoff run as they beat the Buffalo Sabres in seven games, then lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in the East Final.
Because Gallagher has a modified no-trade clause, he has some choice about where he’d like to go as the Canadiens look to offload his contract. Though he told reporters that, if it were up to him, he’d stay in Montreal for the rest of his career, he did say that he’d welcome a return home to Vancouver if the opportunity is presented to him.