Marc Dumont
Brendan Gallagher’s time with the Montreal Canadiens is coming to an end, and though his best years are clearly behind him, there’s an argument to be made that an NHL Trade won’t be extremely difficult to pull off, as some have suggested.
With that being said, general manager Kent Hughes won’t move Gallagher to a team that will dump into the minors in exchange for a healthy return. Rather, he wants to find Gallagher a new organization that can use his services throughout the year.
And though he’s been oft-maligned in his final years with the Canadiens, the rumours of Gallagher’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.
Gallagher NHL Trade Value
There comes an age when a certain type of player starts to inevitably pay for a career filled with reckless abandon and consistent sacrifice.
Make no mistake, despite still being one of the hardest working players in the lineup, Gallagher no longer has the gas tank necessary to be one of the most underrated players in the NHL.
However, he’s also far from being a negative value player.
In fact, throughout the playoffs, Gallagher maintained the highest shot share, goal share, and expected goal share of any Canadiens player. Of course, he didn’t play as often as most of his teammates, but it goes to show that he still can provide an energy boost when used sporadically.
And during the regular season, he maintained very solid underlying numbers, particularly relative to his teammates. Only phenom Lane Hutson, sniper Cole Caufield, captain Nick Suzuki, and newcomer Alexandre Texier produced a better relative shot share (CF% Rel.) than Gallagher at 5v5.
His production has certainly slowed, though it should be noted that he finished with 1.31 points per 60, which was more than Jake Evans (1.28) and Josh Anderson (1.26).
And then there’s the matter of his affinity for driving opposing goaltenders and netminders up the wall. Simply put, Gallagher is an agent of chaos, the type of player you hate to face, but love having on your team.
He’s also guaranteed to offer an honest effort every single shift, unlike many of his NHL counterparts.
There’s no ego when it comes to Gallagher, and he’s well known for being a positive force in the locker room.
Potential NHL Trade Partners
If the Canadiens want to acquire a star forward, there’s a decent chance they’ll also want to include Gallagher in the deal, especially if they use their first-round pick to sweeten the pot.
Now, this is not a case of using a good pick simply to move Gallagher, but rather, to acquire a talented player such as New York Rangers forward Vincent Trocheck.
There would be more to it than just the 28th overall pick and Gallagher, but the framework for a potential deal is there.
There’s also been talk that Gallagher would be a good fit with the Vancouver Canucks, allowing him to play in the same province where he spent the entirety of his junior career with the Vancouver Giants.
The Canucks also have ample cap space, and given that they’re starting their rebuild in earnest, they would not have to worry about Gallagher falling off a statistical cliff next season, even if it’s very unlikely.
NHL Trade Wild Cards
Several teams are well below the cap floor, which is set at $76.9M next season. Things can and will change, but it’s worth keeping in mind that the San Jose Sharks, the Chicago Blackhawks, the Anaheim Ducks, the Florida Panthers, and the Philadelphia Flyers, among other teams, need to add more contracts to the mix to reach the salary cap floor.
Again, I’m not a suggesting they will pay the Canadiens for Gallagher’s services, but the idea that the Habs will have to offer an arm and a leg to move him is based on flawed logic.
For example, Hughes managed to move the final season of Carey Price’s deal, paying just a sixth-round pick and a contract slot to do so. The Sharks desperately needed cap space, and Price’s $10.5 million price tag was exactly what the doctor ordered. Now, in that case, Price’s actual salary was just $2 million, which means the Sharks bought $10.5 million in cap space for just $2 million.
Ryan Strome, a player with a $5 million cap hit, was acquired by the Calgary Flames in exchange for a seventh-round pick.
Gallagher’s final season will carry a $6.5 million salary cap hit, but he is only owed $4 million in actual salary, which means the team that acquires him will be getting a $2.5 million discount as they attempt to reach the salary cap floor.
The Canadiens may have to add a late-round pick to the equation, but this is not a Patrick Marleau situation, far from it.
Montreal is not desperate, and they’re not willing to handicap themselves by using an excellent asset to trade a somewhat useful player who can easily be kept on the books next season before his contract finally expires.
Ideally, the Habs will move him sooner than later, but they’re not under extreme pressure to do so.
Brendan Gallagher’s agent Gerry Johansson has permission from Montreal to help facilitate a trade.
— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) June 4, 2026
Montreal Canadiens statistics and cap space information via Natural Stat Trick and Puck Pedia.
