It appears that Brendan Gallagher’s time in Montreal is coming to an end after 14 seasons.
The veteran forward told reporters at the team’s locker cleanout earlier this month that it was “pretty clear I’ll kind of be moving on here” as he thanked his teammates and the organization.
While the 34-year-old forward is set to finish up the final year of a six-year deal this coming season at a $6.5 million cap hit, it certainly feels like his time with the Canadiens is over.
Gallagher spoke at length with The Athletic’s Arpon Basu in a wide-ranging story posted Monday that involved Gallagher taking a hard look at his NHL future.
“It’s different, it’s unique for sure,” Gallagher told Basu about facing an uncertain future at this stage of his career. “Even going back to junior, I’ve never changed teams. I’ve always had the comfort, the familiarity factor. So it’s going to be a different challenge.
“But I’ve always been excited about challenges. I feel like I can handle them, I feel like I’m prepared. It’s going to be different. I know what I’m capable of as a player. I just need to make the right decisions now and put myself in the right position where I can do that, find my purpose again.”
The oldest player on the Canadiens roster at 34, Gallagher saw a career low in ice time this season at 12:21 per game and for the first time since January of 2013 as a rookie, he was made a healthy scratch on March 14. He also only played in three of Montreal’s 19 playoff games.
He finished the regular season with seven goals and 23 points – both career lows for a full season – in 77 games.
Gallagher said he could see the writing on the wall as the season went on and his ice time dwindled.
“This year, your senses kind of go up,” the right winger said. “There were just certain situations where little things that happened, certain responsibilities that you had were shifted other ways. I could tell they were maybe looking elsewhere. And maybe this happens last year if I don’t score as much as I did early on in the season. It’s just one of those things where you could see it coming.
“About halfway through the season, I kind of figured it out. I could kind of sense the direction they were looking to go. And it was OK. At that point, I had had conversations with them and they were super open with me, and I’ll always be appreciative of their honesty, and it’s OK with me as well.”
Gallagher said he prefers that his next destination is close to his current home in Montreal, or his family’s home in Vancouver. Gallagher made it clear finding a situation that works for his family is what he’s most focused on this summer.
“First and foremost, the priority is my family. So that’s No. 1 always. I’ve got a daughter that’s going to be under 2 and a newborn. She can’t be doing that alone,” Gallagher said, referring to his wife, Emma Fortin. “So, we need to be in a position where we’re generally close [to family] and we can get some help. And then after that, I want to be in a position where you have purpose. You’re always trying to win; that’s always the goal. But that’s one thing I’ve kind of learned this year: when purpose is taken away from you, it affects me as a person. I think it would affect anyone in their job.”
Gallagher has spent all 14 of his NHL seasons in Montreal after being drafted in the fifth round in 2010. He has 246 goals and 487 points in 911 career regular season games.
