The Montreal Canadiens will likely make some major moves this offseason, as they made the playoffs last year.
The website PuckPedia’s PuckGM tool lets users create their own trades. One user proposed a deal that would see the Canadiens trading Brendan Gallagher to the San Jose Sharks.
Canadiens acquire:
Sharks acquire:
The proposed deal would be an intriguing deal as Montreal would make a one-for-one swap and save some cap, but would deal a fan-favorite forward.
The Canadiens would acquire Goodrow, who has two years left on his six-year, $21.85 million deal. Goodrow is a known playoff performer. He helped the Tampa Bay Lightning win the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021. The forward is 32 and can be a veteran leader for the young core and likely play on the third line. Last season with the Sharks, he recorded 5 goals and 3 assists for 8 points in 77 games as he had a down year.
In return, Montreal would trade Gallagher, who’s a fan-favorite and one of the leaders of the Habs roster. Gallagher has two years left on his six-year, $39 million deal, so he makes nearly double of Goodrow. Gallagher is a hard worker who can be a leader for the young Sharks team. He recorded 21 goals and 17 assists for 38 points in 82 games and can be a middle-six forward for the Sharks and add more offense to the lineup.
Gallagher Embraced Leadership Role With Canadiens
Gallagher has spent his entire NHL career with the Canadiens which has made him a leader for the team as well as a fan favorite.
The 33-year-old was a leader on and off the ice for the young Habs players and he was excited to lead them back to the playoffs.
“We dipped as far down as you can dip, we had some hard days, some hard practice days, but it kind of defined us,” Gallagher said to NHL.com. “We stuck together as a group, we went through it together. Now we’re starting to reap the rewards a little bit. It’s always important to keep in the back of your mind what you went through. That’s what makes you who you are. As a group, it’s hopefully what makes us a special group.”
Gallagher’s leadership was also pointed out by Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis.
“I think he’s pulled the group into the fight every night,” St. Louis said. “You know what you’re going to get from ‘Gally.’ He’s going to empty the tank every night, he’ll give you everything he has.”
Gallagher has spent his entire 834 game career with the Canadiens.
Canadiens GM Discusses Offseason Moves
Montreal made the playoffs last season and are looking to build off that.
After the trade deadline, Hughes did an interview with The Athletic and discussed the offseason goals.
“We will be very engaged in terms of exploring ways that we can make us a better hockey team, but we’re not going to, we can’t be short-sighted in how we go about it, that’s all,” Hughes said to The Athletic. “We’ve got to consider the present and the future in every decision that we make given that we have a lot of really good young hockey players that we expect to be with us for a very long time.”
Montreal enters the offseason with nearly $8.7 million in cap space.
Trade Pitch Has Canadiens Dealing Fan-Favorite Forward in 1-for-1 Swap