Brendan Gallagher put together a very strong 2017-18 season. He tied his career high in assists and blew away his previous mark with his first 30-goal campaign. While it was a great year for him, it was a dreadful one for his team, and that brought about several big moves in the off-season. Out was the player Gallagher broke into the league with, Alex Galchenyuk, as well as Gallagher’s opposite winger, Max Pacioretty.
October 21, 2018: Brendan Gallagher and his linemates are quietly becoming one of the best trios in the NHL
Not even a month into the season, the performance of the Montreal Canadiens’ top line was casting a new light on the Pacioretty trade. It was no longer one focused solely on the future, because Tomas Tatar was a major contributor from the opening faceoff of the season.
Tatar’s transition to a new team and much needed new opportunity was helped by the steady presence of Phillip Danault and the relentless effort of Gallagher. The line clicked right away, and always gravitated back together after any experimentation with the lineup. They carried their play right through the season, finishing as one of the best combinations in the entire league.
March 1, 2019: Montreal Canadiens Organizational Players of February
While they were steady, Max Domi was the bigger story to start the year, and claimed our honours in the opening two months. Then it was Carey Price replacing his impostor in November and dragging the Canadiens back up the standings to end the year.
As things tightened up in February among the teams vying for playoff positions, Gallagher brought his best effort to the table. A hat trick versus the Flyers highlighted the month, but it was just a portion of the exceptional play that had Montreal still in the running.
August 12, 2019: Just call him Brendan Gallagher, goal-scorer
The end result was a new mark in goals for the alternate captain, something few would have predicted with the changes in the 2018 off-season. They weren’t just the typical deflections and rebounds either; he was scoring goals from distance, turning himself into a multidimensional offensive threat. It’s good news for the Canadiens going forward, and it may be even better news for him as he doesn’t need to take such a beating to be a contributor.
August 16, 2019: It’s time to stop underrating Brendan Gallagher
Other winger score more goals, and do so with more flair, but few have the overall impact on their team that Gallagher does. He deserves more respect than he gets from outside parties. However, if it takes a 40-goal season to get the recognition, it’s not out of the question that he could still have that number in him.
Grade Brendan Gallagher’s season
| A+ | 458 |
| A | 281 |
| A- | 40 |
| B+ | 11 |
| B | 1 |
| B- | 1 |
| C+ | 3 |
| C | 0 |
| C- | 0 |
| D | 0 |
| F | 3 |
