- Pierre LeBrun says the Canucks and Canadiens have talked Gallagher, but a deal is hung up on a sweetener
- Gallagher’s agent confirmed Vancouver’s interest, saying the trade is “on their desk”
- Read below for the contract, the holdup, and what Vancouver might have to move
Brendan Gallagher’s next stop looks like Vancouver. Getting him there is the hard part.
Pierre LeBrun said on Oilers Now that the Canucks and Canadiens have talked about a Gallagher trade, but it isn’t done because Vancouver is waiting on a sweetener from Montreal.
Gallagher’s agent, Gerry Johansson, talked about Vancouver’s interest earlier this month on Donnie and Dhali.
“Vancouver has initially expressed interest, but lots of moving parts. It’s on their desk, they do have interest,” Johansson said.
What Montreal attaches to get him out the door is the sticking point. Gallagher has one year left at a $6.5 million cap hit, and a rebuilding Canucks team isn’t eating that for free. Vancouver has the cap space, but a club building from the ground up tends to operate well under the ceiling. An extra draft pick from Montreal would probably get the deal across the line.
None of this is sudden. The Canadiens gave Gallagher’s camp permission to find a trade at the start of the month, and they would rather move him than buy him out.
The goodbye already happened. Gallagher called it “pretty clear” he would be moving on after 14 years in Montreal. He still put up 7 goals and 23 points in 77 games last season.
Vancouver may pay more than a pick to land him. Farhan Lalji said on the same show the Canucks would likely have to move Jake DeBrusk to clear the room, and Ottawa has already been sniffing around DeBrusk.
Kent Hughes has time and a willing partner. The price tag is the only thing standing between Gallagher and a Canucks sweater.
