BROSSARD, Que. — For the first time since stepping into the NHL 13 years ago, Brendan Gallagher’s place in the lineup isn’t assured, and all the reasons for that are logical.
Gallagher is less than two months away from his 34th birthday, and the signs he’s at least that old go beyond just physical appearance. The wear and tear suffered over a career made the hardest way a player can make one has been more apparent than it otherwise would be during a normal season without a compressed schedule.
And with the Montreal Canadiens at full health, with their depth pushing good players to the margins of the lineup on a nightly basis, the notion of Gallagher skipping the second half of a back-to-back on occasion — or of him being placed in a rotation that keeps everyone fresh down the stretch — is anything but out of place.
But that doesn’t make the decision to make Gallagher a healthy scratch a no-brainer for coach Martin St. Louis.
If he’d characterise it as an extremely difficult decision, it’s at least in part because it’s about more than just performance.
“On the side of our standards, effort and combativeness have to be part of the equation,” St. Louis said about all lineup decisions he must make.
“But it’s not because you work hard that you’re going to play on the first or second line,” he added. “You have matchups, you have players who have certain potential. You have categories of players where that comes with it, depending on the role you play. If you’re more of a PK guy and have a good offensive sequence, does that mean you belong on the power play? I don’t think it works like that.
“But the expectations with our standards, from how you practise to how you compete to your attitude, that’s a part of the equation.”
If meeting standards with good practice habits, competitiveness and attitude were the only factors, Gallagher would be a mainstay in Montreal’s lineup over anyone else he’d be measured against.
He’s a leader, and not just an appointed one who wears an “A” on his jersey.
We’re talking about a player who doesn’t just meet standards; he sets them. And pulling such a player out of the lineup for someone who might perform slightly better but can’t live up to those standards could be beneficial for a night here or there but detrimental in the long run.
If St. Louis wasn’t aware of that reality, the decision between Gallagher and Alex Texier or Zachary Bolduc would be a lot easier.
What’ll make an extremely hard decision more digestible is how the coach has been communicating with all parties involved.
“I think every player on my team knows where they stand,” St. Louis said. “I have plenty of conversations with everybody about where they stand. We’re going to make the decisions that are best for the team.”
Sitting Gallagher from time to time could be what’s best for both him and the Canadiens.
And though he may not agree, it’s a reality he’d have to accept after having already accepted that younger, faster and more skilled players have pushed him down to a fourth-line role from which he’s averaging a career-low 12:39 per game.
Gallagher’s best performances of the season came in the lead up to the Olympics, over two three-game weeks, and it’s hard to see that as coincidental. If a game off here or there — the Canadiens have four more sets of back-to-backs, starting with games against the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks this weekend — enables him to be the best version of himself when he plays, while also ensuring players such as Texier and Bolduc get what they’ve earned, it makes sense.
But anything more than that could have an adverse effect on the team given Gallagher’s standing both on the ice and in the Canadiens’ room.
“I think he’s a huge part of our team on and off the ice,” said Canadiens assistant captain Mike Matheson. “He’s obviously been here for so long, and everyone has so much respect for him. I think he’s had that reputation of being such a heart-and-soul guy, and it’s because he earns it as the type of person he is and what he brings to the table every single day.”
It’s what Gallagher has done since arriving with the Canadiens at 20 years old, as a fifth-round pick who made a permanent place for himself in the lineup following just a 36-game stint in the AHL.
He scored 15 goals and 28 points over 44 games that first season and vaulted himself into the top six shortly thereafter.
That’s where Gallagher remained over the next eight seasons, collecting the bulk of his 245 goals and 484 points in the league, consistently crashing corners and creases and always bouncing back from the hard knocks.
Injuries to both hands, hips and groins slowed Gallagher down over the years, but he adjusted. He scored 21 goals last season and played a pivotal role on a similar line to the one he currently occupies with Phillip Danault and Josh Anderson.
But Gallagher has just six goals and 20 points through 64 games this season.
His production has waned, but his heart hasn’t skipped a beat at any point.
“He fights for the team,” said soon-to-be 22-year-old Juraj Slafkovsky. “He goes into every battle, he plays hard, and in the locker room he’s a good guy. I sit really close to him; we spend lots of time together. He’s a great human being, and he’s been in the league forever ...”
Gallagher is contracted to be in it through next season, which will be the last one of the $39-million contract former Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin awarded him in October 2020.
Gallagher was always slated to have a hard time living up to it, but he earned it after having played on a six-year deal that paid him just $3.75 million per.
That was a contract he completely outperformed.
And along the way, the Edmonton native bled for Montreal. Over and over again.
Though Gallagher’s impact has diminished, his commitment to doing that hasn’t changed. He continues to bring the Canadiens into the fight and continues to sacrifice himself each and every night.
It’s what still makes the player so important to this team.
“I look at all the veterans that have gone through this rebuild with us, they’ve been a big part of why we are where we are,” St. Louis said. “There’s some veterans that did not want to go through that, and he’s been a big part in that leadership role and he helped our young guys to evolve. He’s played hard.
“Gally’s a pro. And I know his minutes have gone down, and I think it’s just what happens when you have young players pushing and coming. It’s just part of it.”
A game off here or there down the stretch might end up being part of it, too, and that makes sense.
But anything beyond won’t given the character and commitment of the player.
In a fight for a spot in the lineup, Gallagher will swing as hard as he can.
