Which teams could use Brendan Gallagher’s experience?

With the NHL’s upcoming class of unrestricted free agents looking less than enticing, many contending teams could instead turn to the trade market this summer to bolster their roster for next season. After requesting a trade from the Detroit Red Wings, center Dylan Larkin appears to be the top player available, barring any major surprises.

After Larkin, there are plenty of interesting names that could be had for the right price. Among them is veteran Montreal Canadiens winger Brendan Gallagher, who has one year left on his current contract. At 34 years old and coming off a 23-point season, Gallagher isn’t the player he once was, but he is still an intriguing option for a team looking to add leadership, grit, and tenacity to their mix.

On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, hosts Tyler Yaremchuk and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton discussed which teams should pursue a deal for Gallagher this offseason.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Gallagher has some amount of trade control as well, which we do need to remember. He has a six-team no-trade list, so he could nix a couple of teams in this process. Is there one team out there that you think could use a veteran like Brendan Gallagher?

Carter Hutton: I like Vancouver because of the way Ryan Johnson played the game and Manny Malhotra, obviously it’s a good fit. The teams that come to mind when I think about Brendan Gallagher, I think about even Utah, going in there as a cheap veteran, because I’ve been around Bill Armstrong a lot and what he values. That’s probably why I got a contract late in my career with Arizona, cause he knew the way I carried myself around the room. If it’s a discount price, and they’ve had Liam O’Brien there for a long time who plays in that tough guy role, if he’s going to take a limited number and he can be there, I think it’s another fit that just gives you a little bit of depth and creates a better bottom-six culture in Utah as they start to try to push over the top.

You can catch the full discussion and the rest of Thursday’s episode here…