Vancouver Canucks Acquire Brendan Gallagher

First reported by Rick Dhaliwal, Brendan Gallagher is being traded to the Vancouver Canucks. Both teams have since confirmed the trade.

The Montreal Canadiens will retain 50% of the salary, per Puckpedia, meaning the Canucks will only pay $3.25MM of that cap hit. Gallagher, who indicated that he expected to be moved this offseason, has one year left on that contract with a $6.5MM AAV, split between both teams.

Previously, in an appearance on Donnie and Dhali (video link), Gerry Johansson, the agent for Gallagher, confirmed he had spoken with the Canucks about being a landing spot for his client. He said that Vancouver had an interest in the 34-year-old.

Of all the trades that have taken place since the end of the Stanley Cup Final, this one was the most obvious. This past season, despite not dealing with any major injuries, Gallagher had arguably the worst offensive showing of his professional career, registering seven goals and 23 points in 77 games while averaging 12:21 of ice time. In the playoffs, he tallied one assist in three games, being a healthy scratch on most nights.

Unfortunately, despite giving 14 years of his life to the “bleu, blanc et rouge”, Gallagher’s time with the organization ends unceremoniously. Once a key player for the organization in the late 2010s, Gallagher concludes his time with the Canadiens having recorded 246 goals and 487 points in 911 regular-season games, along with 14 goals and 34 points in 79 postseason matches.

Still, while he lost much of his ice time in Montreal, he should have access to much more in Vancouver. The Canucks are in the basement of the NHL, and having just traded Nils Hoglander to the Nashville Predators, should have plenty of opportunity for Gallagher in the middle six on the right side.

He won’t be expected to do much on the ice, given that Vancouver has no expectations of competing next year. However, Gallagher’s experience at every level that the game has to offer will be invaluable to the younger crop coming up for the Canucks this next season. That’s not to say Gallagher won’t play meaningful hockey again, however. Given the Canucks position in their rebuild, Gallagher immediately becomes a trade candidate for next year’s deadline.

PHR’s Brennan McClain contributed to this article.