Marc Dumont
The Montreal Canadiens have received important and honest contributions from Brendan Gallagher throughout his 14-year tenure with the club, but the veteran’s time with the organization has come to an end.
The Canadiens will look to move Gallagher in the offseason, ideally via a trade, to give the club more financial manoeuvrability moving forward.
Gallagher has one year left on his contract, which carries a $6.5 million annual average value (AAV).
However, given that he epitomized what it means to be a member of the Montreal Canadiens, the team is going to attempt to find him a new home that will offer him plenty of opportunities to continue to his NHL career.
Darren Dreger mentioned the situation on the most recent edition of Early Trading.
“They want to do right by Brendan Gallagher.” explained Dreger. “Sources tell me that Kent Hughes and Ryan Johnson continue to have trade discussions and negotiations on the possibility of moving Gallagher to his hometown of Vancouver.”
The Vancouver Canucks have surfaced as the front-runners to acquire Gallagher, and there’s no doubt they’d be a good fit. Despite the heightened level of criticism levelled at Gallagher in his final years with the Canadiens, his underlying numbers are still much better than most.
Potential Brendan Gallagher Buyout Impact
If a trade does not materialize, Dreger suggests a buyout could be on the table.
“They continue to work at that. If they can’t get a deal that makes sense done, then I do think the Montreal Canadiens will trigger the buyout option sooner than later. That allows Brendan Gallagher and his representative, Jerry Johansson, to explore what the market is as a bought-out free agent. There are options. But it seems like Option A, is still a trade between the Canadiens and the Canucks, where Gallagher would land in Vancouver.”
The main buyout period is currently open, and will close on June 30, at 5 pm ET.
This puts a little more pressure on the Canadiens and Canucks to get a deal done.
Gallagher actually maintained very respectable advanced numbers last season, and though his body no longer allows him to feature among the top even-strength goalscorers in the league, he’s not at the point where he’s a below-replacement player.
His cap hit is quite high when we consider he managed to score just seven goals and 16 assists last year, but that was done in very limited usage, and the Canucks do not have any salary cap issues. They’re currently slightly above the salary cap floor, with almost $22 million in available salary cap funds.
That’s not to say the Canucks wouldn’t attempt to improve the trade by acquiring an asset alongside Gallagher, perhaps a draft pick, but given the reality of the situation, a buyout can probably be avoided.
It would offer the Habs some financial relief, as buyouts are based on salaries, and not cap hits. Therefore, we’re dealing with a $4 million number, not $6.5M.
Via Puck Pedia:
The Canadiens would receive $2.66 million in salary cap savings this upcoming season, but would lose $1.33 million in 2027-28.
Essentially, the situation is evolving every day, and due to Gallagher’s longstanding service with the Canadiens, Hughes is going to do everything within reason to ensure his veteran finds the right landing place.
Usually, I’d argue buyouts sully a team’s image, but in this case, it would give Gallagher an opportunity to start anew, a nice reward for over 10 years of service to the Canadiens.
