The Canadiens have done their best to right a wrong with Brendan Gallagher.
On Monday afternoon the Canadiens traded the 34-year-old Gallagher to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for future considerations. The Canadiens will also retain 50 per cent of Gallagher’s salary. He has one season remaining on his contract with a US$6.5 million salary-cap hit, but will earn US$4 million.
Gallagher played 14 seasons with the Canadiens after being selected in the fifth round (147th overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft. This season he only scored seven goals in 77 regular-season games and was then made a healthy scratch for 16 of 19 playoff games.
Head coach Martin St. Louis decided to make Gallagher a healthy scratch for the team’s final game this season, a 6-1 loss to the Hurricanes in Carolina in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final.
Un coéquipier sans pareil et notre éternel guerrier. Merci à Brendan Gallagher pour tout ce qu’il a fait pour la ville de Montréal, tant sur la glace qu’à l’extérieur, et on lui souhaite le meilleur à Vancouver ❤️
The ultimate teammate and forever our warrior. Thank you for… pic.twitter.com/hvJqTor3sy
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) June 29, 2026
After Gallagher was made a healthy scratch for five regular-season games and all but three playoff games it became obvious he didn’t have a future with the team. But not being able to dress for one final game with the Canadiens didn’t sit well with Gallagher and it didn’t seem right after all he had done for the franchise while becoming the team’s heart and soul.
It became obvious after the first four games that the Canadiens weren’t going to win the series against the Hurricanes and it was unlikely they were going to win Game 5. The three players on the Canadiens’ fourth line for Game 5 — Kirby Dach, Joe Veleno and Alexandre Texier — combined for one hit and no shots.
The Canadiens probably wouldn’t have won with Gallagher in the lineup, but they almost certainly would have put up more of a fight.
“I thought I’d be in there (for Game 5),” Gallagher said when he met with the media after the Canadiens’ season ended. “I was actually looking forward to the opportunity to try to pull guys into the fight. I thought that’s something that I’ll never lose and something I do well. I’m sure I would have been able to. I just wasn’t given the opportunity and that’s fine. I’ve had to accept this fate here for a little while. I’m looking forward to a new challenge.
“Obviously, that’s coach’s decision,” Gallagher added. “That’s within his job title and for me, as a player, when your number’s called to be ready …. if it’s not called it’s probably time to move on.”
Gallagher also mentioned at the time that he’d love to play for the Canucks in Vancouver, the city where he grew up and played junior hockey with the WHL’s Giants. Gallagher also has his summer home in Tsawwassen, B.C., and has family in the area.
“That’s obviously an opportunity that’s there … if it is,” Gallagher said at the end of the season about possibly going to the Canucks. “I haven’t had an opportunity really with my agent to sit down. I’m sure there will be a couple of places, to sit down with my wife and make sure what’s best for our family and then you go forward. But, certainly, Vancouver would be a great place.”
The Canadiens have now granted Gallagher his wish.
“Brendan is a quality individual and a very good hockey player,” Canucks general manager Ryan Johnson said on the team’s website. “We love the way he competes and leads by example. Bringing in veterans like Brendan will help us set the standard for our younger guys to follow.”
The Canucks were the worst team in the NHL this season, finishing with a 25-49-8 record, 14 points behind the Chicago Blackhawks, who were the second-worst team with a 29-39-14 record.
Johnson was named last month as general manager to replace Patrik Allvin after twins Daniel and Henrik Sedin were named co-presidents of hockey operations for the Canucks, replacing Jim Rutherford. Manny Malhotra was named to replace Adam Foote as head coach. Malhotra and Gallagher were teammates with the Canadiens for the 2014-15 season, Malhotra’s last as a player in the NHL.
“We are excited to add someone who has ties to the Lower Mainland, wants to be here with the Canucks, and knows firsthand how passionate and knowledgeable our hockey market is in Vancouver,” Johnson said about Gallagher. “This is an important acquisition for our hockey club.”
Editor’s Picks
The Canadiens also announced Monday they traded forward Joshua Roy to the Utah Mammoth in exchange for defenceman Maksymilian Szuber. Both players are restricted free agents.