{"id":792336,"date":"2026-07-10T07:33:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T07:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/792336\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T07:33:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T07:33:12","slug":"likeliest-canadiens-to-replace-gallagher-as-alternate-captain-the-hockey-writers-montreal-canadiens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/792336\/","title":{"rendered":"Likeliest Canadiens to Replace Gallagher as Alternate Captain – The Hockey Writers – Montreal Canadiens"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a flip side to every coin. While trading Brendan Gallagher<\/a> freed up a roster spot for the Montreal Canadiens and took (50% of) a bad contract<\/a> off the books, the Habs lost their longest-tenured player, a consummate professional and workhorse, a beloved fan favourite as a result and an invaluable leader in the locker room and on the ice.<\/p>\n

For all those traits and more, Gallagher more than earned the letters on his jersey, both the \u201cCH\u201d and his \u201cA\u201d as an alternate captain. Replacing him for the 2026-27 season won\u2019t be easy, but the Canadiens do have many viable candidates from which to choose who should at least come close, joining Mike Matheson as the team\u2019s other alternate and Nick Suzuki as captain to form the team\u2019s primary leadership core. Here are the top five:<\/p>\n

5. Phillip Danault<\/p>\n

Phillip Danault may have just been acquired by the Canadiens<\/a> this past season, but it\u2019s his second stint with the franchise, bringing the 33-year-old veteran\u2019s overall tenure with the team to parts of seven seasons. Following Gallagher\u2019s departure, only captain Nick Suzuki (and Jake Evans) have served longer terms with the team. That shouldn\u2019t be a coincidence.<\/p>\n

However, whereas Suzuki is signed until 2030, Danault becomes an unrestricted free agent in one season. Taking into account the veteran\u2019s age, it\u2019s hard to envision general manager Kent Hughes being willing to commit to him with even a medium-term deal. A defensive specialist who provided much needed stability down the middle down the stretch, he would otherwise be a decent choice.<\/p>\n

4. Josh Anderson<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth noting Josh Anderson has worn an \u201cA\u201d for the Canadiens before, back in 2020-21, per Elite Prospects<\/a>, oddly enough his first season with the Habs. Since then, despite generally failing to live up to offensive expectations (scoring the franchise\u2019s first game-winning goal in a Stanley Cup Final since 1993 notwithstanding), he\u2019s consistently shown up from a physicality and effort-level standpoint on a nightly basis. In a vacuum, he\u2019d be an easy choice, but, seeing as his contract is expiring in one year too and he\u2019s not a lock to be re-signed, the Habs will probably go with someone else with more of a certain, long-term future with the organization.<\/p>\n

3. Kaiden Guhle<\/p>\n

Defenseman Kaiden Guhle is the first player on this list under contract past 2027, after he signed a six-year, $33.3 million extension in 2024 (which came into effect this season). He can be a bit polarizing in terms of whether or not he\u2019s worth his $5.55 million cap hit, but the 24-year-old means a lot to the team as a projected two-way defenseman who seems on the verge of breaking out statistically\u2026 if he could just stay healthy over an entire season.<\/p>\n

Guhle\u2019s injury woes have seen him hit 70 games once in his four-year career. However, he\u2019s still managed to contribute at both ends of the ice, despite routinely facing opposing teams\u2019 toughest players (0.2497 Quality of Competition relative Corsi for, per DobberSports<\/a>), with one of the team\u2019s highest percentage of shifts started in the defensive zone.<\/p>\n

Granted, deployment like that isn\u2019t kind to his underlying numbers. It does speak to his worth to the team and the degree to which head coach Martin St. Louis trusts him, though.<\/p>\n

2. Jake Evans<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a similar situation regarding Jake Evans<\/a> up front. For better or worse, no Canadiens player starts more of their shifts in the defensive zone (a team-low 19.70% of his shifts started in the offensive zone, per Natural Stat Trick<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\"JakeMontreal Canadiens forward Jake Evans \u2013 (Jess Starr<\/a>\/The Hockey Writers)<\/p>\n

The difference to Guhle is, as alluded to earlier, Evans trails just Suzuki (537) in terms of number of games played for the franchise (among active players), with 418. The worth of each of the two players to the organization may be on relatively opposite ends of the spectrum. However, in signing him to a four-year, $11.4 million extension in the lead-up to the 2025 trade deadline, Hughes demonstrated the degree to which he values the rugged centre.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth noting, Evans arguably represented the team\u2019s top trade chip and could have brought in a decent haul. By keeping him, Hughes seemed to make a conscious decision to go for it and try to make the playoffs (an endeavour that proved successful). What\u2019s maybe more significant for the purposes of this piece though is that Evans decided to forego unrestricted free agency, when he probably could have earned more than his current $2.85 million cap hit on the open market, further demonstrating his commitment to the organization.<\/p>\n

1. Lane Hutson<\/p>\n

When it comes down to it Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson<\/a> is the best choice for myriad reasons: his elite play that saw him tie Hockey Hall of Famer Larry Robinson for the franchise\u2019s single-season assists record for a defenseman in 2025-26, the accountability he\u2019s shown on the rare occasions he makes a mistake, his willingness to take what appears to be more and more of a bargain of an eight-year, $70.8 million contract that could keep him in town until 2034, etc.<\/p>\n

It all amounts to him leading by example on and off the ice. While that is true to various degrees with regard to the other names on this list, Hutson is the highest-profile player by a mile. That by itself maybe shouldn\u2019t be just cause to name him an alternate, but, by virtue of his ability to break open a game on any given play, he personifies better than anyone else listed what it means to take charge.<\/p>\n

Gallagher\u2019s similarly small stature may be deceptive, in that his size certainly didn\u2019t stop him from doing his best every night to accomplish what was required. He may not have succeeded all the time, but his fingerprints are all over the team\u2019s current culture in that way. That ironically leaves huge metaphorical skates to fill, but Hutson seems to be the perfect fit.<\/p>\n

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