Canadiens will explore trade market with Gallagher before buyout
The Montreal Canadiens saw just what a Stanley Cup run can do to the city this season, advancing to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in a non-pandemic year since 2014, but much of it was done without a veteran in the lineup — Brendan Gallagher.
The 34-year-old forward has played 911 career regular-season games with the Canadiens since joining the team from the 2010 NHL Draft, but was largely sidelined throughout the most recent Stanley Cup Playoffs.
On a recent episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period joined co-hosts Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton to break down the outlook for Brendan Gallagher and if the Canadiens may explore the trade market, before looking at a contract buyout.
Carter Hutton: We heard Brendan Gallagher talk the other day and get emotional about being done with the Habs. What’s his tank like? Is it a buyout retention? What happens, or a cap dump during the summer?
David Pagnotta: I think they’re going to explore moving him first, and if that’s an avenue that they can pursue and go in that direction, I think they’d rather do that than go the buyout route.
It’s an option, but I don’t think they want to execute it. I think they’d rather go the trade avenue and go from there. We know we mentioned Vancouver, and that would be a good spot for him. We’ll see if the Canucks reciprocate in terms of interest. We know what they’re doing, we know they’re going through a rebuild, and Jake DeBrusk is, as far as I know, still wanting to go to a contender and doesn’t want to be part of a rebuild.
This is me just trying to see if there is a way for that to work out between the two. The Canadiens obviously would have to add more to that mix, and he’s a big physical guy that I think the Canadiens would certainly have interest in. Does that move the needle at all for Vancouver, though? To move a guy out, money-wise, long-term, you’re going to save dollars because Gallagher is entering the final year of his deal, but he’s got six and a half million next season, so the Habs eat some of that? All this to say, again, that I think the Canadiens are going to explore trading him first, and if they can find a suitor, they’ll go in that direction.
If they can’t, they’ll have to weigh buyout options, but the Habs are going to have a bit of a busy off-season. I believe they’re obviously going to revisit what they discussed ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline…So, we’ll see about them getting on that now that they’re done, and whether they get a No. 2 center? I think, in a perfect world, they’d like to bring in a center, and then another physical, big body winger that can keep up with some of their top six guys.
You can catch the full conversation and the rest of the show here…