ALL ABOUT WINNING
Gallagher has his priorities
The Canadiens and Brendan Gallagher will talk about a contact extension this summer and the feisty winger said it will take more than a boatload of money to get his signature on a new deal.
“You have to have priorities, you have to understand what’s important for you,” Gallagher said Thursday in a conference call from his off-season home in the Vancouver suburb of Tsawwassen. “It’s always been about winning to me. Everyone loves having money and everyone loves being in a good city and these are things that are important, but you have to understand what’s most important and, for me, that’s winning.”
If you think that sounds like Gallagher wants out of Montreal, you would be wrong. When asked whether he thought it was possible to win with the Canadiens he replied: “I definitely do.”
While he said it was discouraging to miss the playoffs in each of the past two seasons (and heading for a third miss this season), he expressed confidence in general manager Marc Bergevin’s vision and pointed to the development of youngsters like Nick Suzuki as a sign that the Canadiens are headed in the right direction.
Bergevin has a lot of work to do in the coming year. All three members of his top line — Gallagher, Tomas Tatar and Phil Danault — are heading into the final seasons of their contracts.
Gallagher said it’s “an opportunity to set yourself for life. It’s something everyone dreams of having, but (money’s) not my priority. I don’t want go through my entire career and look back having regrets.”
No matter how it works out, there will be money. Gallagher scored 30 goals in each of the two previous seasons and had 22 in this pandemic-shortened one. There will be comparisons made to Chris Kreider, who passed on free agency to sign a seven-year, Us$45.5-million contract with the New York Rangers. Kreider is a year older than the 27-year-old Gallagher and has twice scored 28 goals.
Gallagher’s current six-year deal has a cap hit of $3.75 million, but unlike Max Pacioretty, you won’t hear him complaining about being underpaid.
“I was happy to sign for a six years because it gave me a sense of security as a player and I was able to block out a lot of things that younger players have to deal with mentally,” Gallagher said. “That was important to me at the time. Now, I want to put myself in a position to compete for the Stanley Cup and I believe in Montreal we have that potential and you can see steps going forward. As a player, you always like to stay where you are. Nobody likes change all that much, it kind of scares you. If it’s possible to work it out in Montreal, it’s something I’d enjoy.”
When asked to describe his current condition, Gallagher said he is bored. He works out with his father Ian, who is a strength coach, and tries to maintain contact with his teammates. There’s a daily call with Paul Byron — “We like to argue a lot,” Gallagher said — video chats with a larger group of players and cribbage games with his father. He also talks soccer with Tatar and Artturi Lehkonen.
In the early days of the lockdown, Gallagher stayed in Montreal and played a lot of Call of Duty with his teammates, but he admitted he wasn’t very good.
He was asked to participated in the NHL20 Player Gaming Challenge, but he suggested that the team would be better represented by Suzuki and Victor Mete: “Those kids are always playing games.”
As for real games, Gallagher said he has heard a number of different scenarios for a return to the ice. He said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman appeared determined to finish the season one way or another, but he noted that any plan to play after July 1 has to be approved by the players association.
“Players will look at it selfishly,” he said. “If they think they have a chance to win the Stanley Cup, they’ll be in favour. I think I’d rather stay here and train and get my body ready for next season when we have a chance to compete.”