Brendan Gallagher cracked the door open Monday morning. The Montreal Canadiens veteran said Vancouver "would be a great place" if his next chapter takes him out of the only NHL home he's ever known.
His full quote left no doubt where his heart lives. He'd stay in Montreal for the rest of his career if it were entirely up to him. But the 34-year-old admitted he'll have a say in where he goes if a move happens.
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Then came the part that lit up X. Asked specifically about going back home to Vancouver, the winger made it clear that's a destination he'd welcome. He plans to sit down with his wife and agent to figure out what's next.
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Gallagher is coming off a 77-game regular season with 7 goals and 16 assists for 23 points. Career-wise, he's spent every NHL shift in a Canadiens sweater since being drafted in 2010.
His playoff run was short. Three games, one goal, one point, plus-1. The bottom-six minutes told the story.
What a Vancouver homecoming actually looks like
Vancouver finished 32nd overall at 25-49-8 under head coach Adam Foote. The Canucks gave up 316 goals. Bringing in a 34-year-old winger to "improve the culture" is the kind of move that makes sense in a press release and nowhere else.
Rick Dhaliwal floated the idea publicly. Brendan Gallagher makes sense if you want to improve the culture, the way the Canucks did things.
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That's the wrinkle nobody wants to name. Gallagher still has term and money on his deal. Any path back home runs straight through Kent Hughes and whatever Vancouver is willing to absorb.
The Canadiens just lost their third-round series to Carolina. Hughes is staring at a roster that needs an upgrade on the wing, not a sentimental exit interview.
The kid who grew up in Tsawwassen made his name running pucks to the net for the Habs. Walking away from that, even for home, isn't a clean storyline. And the team waiting on the other side just finished dead last.
Should Kent Hughes trade Brendan Gallagher to Vancouver this summer?
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