Brendan Gallagher is as tough as they come. Ask any Montreal Canadiens fan, and they will agree that the 5′ 9″ firecracker has earned the title “warrior.”
Unfortunately, Gallagher’s style of play, paired with some plain old bad luck, has kept him off the ice for multiple stretches over the past few years.
The last time the Habs forward played a full season was in 2018-2019. Since then, several injuries, including two broken fingers, a fractured hand, a broken ankle, and a concussion, have prevented him from suiting up consistently.
Now, the 31-year-old says he’s starting the upcoming campaign with a clean bill of health.
“I’ve had a good summer. I have hit all my numbers in the gym; I feel good on the ice,” Gallagher said in a recent interview with the Montreal Gazette. “It’s just about getting a little bit of luck and staying healthy for a full season, and I’ll get back to where I need to be.”
“I’ve had seasons where I’ve missed a lot of games, but consecutive years is really tough,” added the Edmonton native, who’s in the third year of a six-year contract with an annual cap hit of $6.5 million. “You still feel like you have it, but your body hasn’t obliged.”
The Canadiens have caught the injury bug badly over the past two seasons, becoming the league’s most-injured roster twice in two seasons. As a difference-maker, it was hard for Gallagher to watch his team sink to the bottom of the standings on both occasions.
“It’s always harder when the team is going through a rough stretch,” he said. “You just want to be there because you feel like you can help, you feel like you can contribute.”
Still, Gallagher, who netted eight goals and 14 points over 37 games last year, is optimistic that the upcoming season will be one of improvement for him and his teammates.
“You never know going into a season what type of team you’ll have. I know we’ll be better. How much better is up to each one of us,” Gallagher said. “It all depends on the strides that everybody is going to make.”
“I think we’ll be more comfortable with our system. I think Marty [St. Louis] is more comfortable with us. We’ve been together. That always helps.”