Gallagher drawing on past experience to navigate Canucks' rebuild

VANCOUVER — In the National Hockey League, Rome never gets built in a day, although the Vegas Golden Knights managed it in one season.

But for actual rebuilds, no one has done it faster in the last decade than the Montreal Canadiens, who went only three years without playoff appearances before emerging with a talented, young (and sustainable) team that is on the cusp of becoming a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. And, really, most of the reconstruction took only a couple of seasons since co-architects Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes went to work only halfway through the 2021-22 campaign.

Brendan Gallagher had a dressing-room view of the Canadiens’ reconstruction. But before he talks about his new project with the Vancouver Canucks, there were a couple of things he needed to point out Monday when asked about Montreal.

“About the rebuild in Montreal, when it started, you already had Suzie (Nick Suzuki), who (became) a 100-point guy,” Gallagher explained after the Canucks practised at Rogers Arena. “You already had Cole (Caufield), who's a 50-goal scorer. Those are pieces that were already in place. And then you go out and draft ... Lane (Hutson) and (Ivan) Demidov, you draft (Juraj) Slafkovsky. Those are obviously huge, huge pieces. They get (Jacob) Fowler. Like, they add a bunch of pieces, but maybe sped things up a little bit because you had essentially a first line already.”

The Canucks, by comparison, have their best two forward prospects, Caleb Malhotra and Braeden Cootes, still playing college and minor-league hockey. They are a long way from establishing themselves as NHL players, let alone first-line NHL players.

“I think there are a lot of really good pieces in this locker room,” Gallagher said, pivoting to the Canucks. “It's important that they understand, you know, the life of being a pro and going through a full season and understanding the demands on your body and taking care of yourself and all those things. And, you know, it's rewarding when you come out the other side. When we kind of went through it in Montreal, you see the guys now and how much they love being together. It's because, you know, we had some tough days there.”

Most days this season have been tough for the 3-12-1 Canucks, who have one win in their last 13 games.

Gallagher, taken from Montreal in June on a free transfer because the 34-year-old wanted to play in Vancouver, his adopted home, had his own share of challenges in his first month with the Canucks after 13 seasons with the Canadiens.

He was healthy-scratched three times by coach Manny Malhotra and watched two straight games from the press box before emerging Saturday with probably his best game of the season in the Canucks’ 4-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Gallagher and fourth-line mates Max Sasson and Paul Cotter generated a third-period goal for Sasson (on a rebound from Gallagher) and impressively drove play, outshooting and outchancing opponents during their five-on-five shifts.

It was Gallagher’s second assist. But 13 games into his Canucks tenure, the physical winger is still looking for his first goal with Vancouver after scoring 246 for Montreal.

“You’ve scored goals your whole life,” Gallagher explained. “Eventually, you know, something will go in the net. It's certainly an area I'd love to contribute. But I just think there's just so much more that I'm trying to focus on. As a line, just kind of build your identity. And when you do that, I think everything will take care of itself.”

Malhotra said he liked his fourth line’s consistency.

“They did a really good job of doing the things we've asked in terms of getting in on the forecheck, playing a very simple and direct game, and they were rewarded for it,” the coach said. “The simplicity of getting a puck to the net and looking for rebounds is a timeless recipe that seems to work. But it comes down to the willingness to do those things, and they did a good job of it.”

And his assessment of Gallagher so far?

“As you said, he's been in and out a little bit, so I think it's finding the consistency in his game again,” Malhotra said. “If you look at his body of work in the last game, that's what you'd expect of Brendan Gallagher. He was relentless on pucks, came up with a lot (of them), got some action to the net, got himself involved physically. So those are the things we expect of him. Again, it's a matter of consistency. We want to see that more regularly in his game.”

What Gallagher can do on the ice, however, is only part of the reason the Canucks took on the final season of the right winger’s contract. Malhotra and general manager Ryan Johnson want him to lead by example in the dressing room, bring positivity, and tutor and support younger teammates while showing them how to be NHL professionals.

“It definitely feels good to have a guy like that on your line and in the locker room — (a guy) who just has seen everything in this league,” Sasson, a third-year centre, said. “I’m just trying to learn from him and talk to him. The other thing is, like, he's an unbelievable dude. That came as advertised, but honestly, he’s an even better guy than people said. 

“Like, he's awesome. We're always laughing and joking with each other. He's done so much in this league, everyone knows his stature. He's just a great human being, and having him on my line has been awesome.”

As with the fourth line, the Canucks have been getting better, more competitive and more engaged in the last three games. They narrowly outshot the opposition in all three, after Vancouver was outshot in 12 of their first 13 games, dramatically so in half of them.

The Anaheim Ducks, against whom the Canucks rallied from three goals down in the third period to win 6-5 in overtime a week ago in California, visit Rogers Arena on Tuesday.

“You know, you come in, it's new for everyone, right?” Gallagher said. “It's obviously new for me, but it’s new coaches, it's a new feel. I think (there was) a little bit of thinking going on the first 10 games. I felt like we were a little bit hesitant, just trying, you know, to take in a little bit of information and use it and apply it. I think we just feel more comfortable with all the stuff that we're learning, and there’s a little bit less thinking. I think you can see it going in the right direction, but it's got to continue.

“The biggest thing is, for players, I feel you just can't accept what's going on (with losing games). It's a great opportunity; you're playing in the National Hockey League, and a lot of people out there are paying a lot of money to see the product. So it's important to show up every day and be accountable towards each other. From one game to the next, we need to continue to learn and get better. You have some tough days, but I think there just needs to be improvement every day. That's what you focus on. We're going to be in a better spot at the end of the year than we are now, and that'll be fun to be a part of.”