‘It’s pretty clear I’ll be moving on here’: Gallagher on future with Canadiens
After a difficult season with the Montreal Canadiens, capped off by sitting out all but three of their 19 playoff games, veteran forward Brendan Gallagher all but confirmed Monday that he’ll be moving on from the club this summer.
Gallagher, 34, collected seven goals and 23 points in 77 games with the Canadiens during the 2025-26 regular season, but largely watched from the sidelines as the club went on its run to the Eastern Conference Final this spring. Speaking to the media in Montreal on Monday, Gallagher became visibly emotional while describing his Canadiens tenure in the past tense.
“First and foremost, so thankful and so 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 that not a lot of players get in the league. I’ve got to do it for 14 years now, and it’s not lost on me how special it was to call the Bell Centre home.”
“The very first time I stepped foot in this organization, management, coaches, teammates that I’ve had along the years. There’s been ups and downs, but I don’t have a single regret,” a tearful Gallagher added. “It’s pretty clear that I’ll be moving on here, but I’m incredibly, incredibly… fortunate.”
Gallagher has just one year remaining on his current contract, which carries an average annual value of $6.5 million. He has a no-movement clause in his deal but must also provide the Canadiens with a list of six teams to which he would consent to be traded.
The Canadiens originally selected Gallagher in the fifth round (No. 147 overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft. The Edmonton, Alta. product spent his junior career with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants, and openly admitted to being interested in returning to Vancouver later in his media availability on Monday.
The 5’9″, 185-pound Gallagher made his NHL debut with the Canadiens in the 2012-13 season and immediately established himself as an NHL regular, skating in 49 of a possible 53 games (including playoffs) with the club that year. He did not play another AHL game until the 2020-21 season, when he skated in one game with the Laval Rocket on a conditioning stint.
Gallagher soon developed into a quality top-six scoring forward with a relentless motor. He topped out with 54 points in the 2017-18 season and added 33 goals the following year. But as he entered his 30s and the Canadiens became a younger team, Gallagher transformed into more of a secondary scorer, energy player, and emotional leader, particularly during their run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final. He served as an alternate captain from 2015-16 onward.
In 911 career NHL games over his 14 seasons in Montreal, Gallagher collected 246 goals, 487 points, and 594 penalty minutes. He added 14 goals, 34 points, and 25 PIMs in 79 playoff contests.