Brendan Gallagher insists that he’s healthy again and considering how the past two seasons have gone for him and his team you’d understand if Montreal Canadiens fans felt that warrants a “Breaking News” tag line.
Injuries limited the former Vancouver Giants standout to 56 games with Montreal two regular seasons ago and things were even worse last year, when the winger broke his right ankle twice and suited up for a mere 37 contests. He was initially hurt blocking a Tyler Myers shot in a Vancouver Canucks’ visit to Montreal on Nov. 9.
“I’ve had a good summer. I have hit all my numbers in the gym, I feel good on the ice,” said Gallagher, who spends his off-seasons in Tsawwassen and is again part of a training group that includes fellow former Giants like Milan Lucic and Lance Bouma at Delta’s Planet
“It’s just about getting a little bit of luck and staying healthy for a full season and I’ll get back to where I need to be.
The Habs are always a fun team for Canucks fans to compare and contrast against, considering their recent histories.
Vancouver’s 38-37-7 record put them six spots higher in the overall standings and 15 points in front of a 31-45-6 Montreal squad a season ago.
Montreal appointed Kent Hughes as general manager on Jan. 18, 2022. Vancouver named Patrick Allvin to that post eight days later. Rick Tocchet has been the Canucks head coach since Jan. 22, 2023. Martin St. Louis took over running the Habs’ bench Feb. 9, 2022.
Montreal doesn’t have a franchise-defining contract to work through currently as the Canucks do with Elias Pettersson, 24, the prized centre who’s a pending restricted free agent. He’s on the last year of a deal with a cap hit of $7.35 million.
The Habs did sign one of their top young players in winger Cole Caufield, 22, to an eight-year extension with a cap hit of $7.85 million in June.“You never know going into a season what type of team you’ll have. I know we’ll be better. How much better is up to each one of us,” Gallagher said. “It all depends on the strides that everybody is going to make. I think we’ll be more comfortable with our system. I think Marty is more comfortable with us. We’ve been together. That always helps.
“I felt good last summer but I broke my ankle and it was a frustrating year. I wasn’t there two summers ago (coming off the playoff run), but I’m there now.
“My season was so short last year. There was nothing I could really hang on to. I came back for 10 games at the end and felt good, but you just want to have a year where you contribute and feel like you’re helping the guys out.”
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