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New Canucks winger Gallagher excited to bring leadership to West Coast
Vancouver Canucks Brendan Gallagher
Photo credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
Jeff Paterson
Jun 29, 2026, 16:00 EDTUpdated: Jun 29, 2026, 15:57 EDT
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There seemed to be a touch of relief in his voice as Brendan Gallagher met the media following his trade Monday morning from Montreal to Vancouver. The idea of the swap had been floating in hockey circles for weeks now, and the 34-year-old winger was finally processing the news that he was on his way west. 
“It was maybe the worst-kept secret and this was kind of what I hoped for both for myself as a professional and also for my family,” Gallagher said. “This is the best case scenario obviously.”
The Canucks clearly feel the same way about adding the high-character Delta-raised product to their roster. As the club works its way through the early days of a much-talked-about rebuild, it wanted to add veteran culture carriers to the mix. And Gallagher certainly fits the bill.
A veteran of 911 regular-season NHL games, and 79 more in the playoffs, Gallagher comes to Vancouver fully understanding the reason he was acquired. It’s every bit as much about what he brings to the locker room as it’s what he can do for the team on the ice.
“I’m really excited to get around the guys and seeing what’s been going on around there,” he explained. “They have a ton of talent, they have good youth, there’s going to be excitement. I’m going to come into that group and try to fit in. I’m not going to try to disturb anything, but I think there’s areas where playing as long as I have, you see things in different teammates and coaches. I hope there’s some young players that I can help expedite their development and certain areas of what being a pro is all about.”
Gallagher is coming off a season in which he scored just seven times and added 16 assists in 77 games. He began to ponder his future with the Canadiens when he was limited to just three of their 19 playoff games. 
Some might look at this deal as a chance for the Canucks to restore some value to an aging asset heading into the final year of his contract with an eye to peddling Gallagher at next year’s trade deadline. That’s a distinct possibility, but not one the player was contemplating yet in the hours after the deal.
“This is my first experience with this, so I’m definitely not thinking about being traded again,” he said. “I’m going to Vancouver with the expectation that I have a job to do and I plan on doing that. I certainly want to keep playing. This is an opportunity for me to do that in a city that I’m very excited to be in and a team I’m very excited to play for.”
Gallagher and his wife are expecting their second child this summer and will remain in Montreal to deliver the baby. After that, he’ll make his way to the West Coast to prepare for his 15th NHL season. And he’ll be looking to bring the knowledge gained from some trying times in Montreal not that long ago when the Habs went through a rebuild of their own. 
They have emerged as one of the teams to watch now in the NHL, and Gallagher sees the same possibility for the team that just acquired him.
“I think we created a really good culture here, and that comes from your darkest days and having guys that want to be around and are committed to the process and believing in the process,” he said. “Any organization, whether it’s sport or anything, is nothing without culture, and I think first and foremost that will be the focus, and I think that’s something I can help out with. I think nothing is given, and when you start to have that internal accountability within a group, that’s when you start to see results and you start to see improvement.”
There is a full-circle moment to the Gallagher trade to Vancouver. In 2014-15, Manny Malhotra finished his NHL career in Montreal. He was added to the Habs roster that season to provide leadership and experience to a young group that included a third-year pro still learning the ropes of life in the NHL. 
And now Brendan Gallagher will play for Manny Malhotra as the two are reunited in Vancouver.
“Manny was an awesome teammate,” Gallagher said. “He stepped into our group here when I was a young player and he was eager to share his knowledge whether it was on faceoffs or grabbing guys if he saw a guy was struggling, he’d just pull you aside and have a chat. It was a pleasure to play with him and I’m very much looking forward to playing for him. He’s a guy I’m sure everyone will be excited to go to battle for.”
Throughout his playing days back to his time as a star with the Western Hockey League’s Vancouver Giants, Gallagher has worn number 11. It’s a number that has been removed from circulation in Vancouver despite the fact Mark Messier wore it for three seasons a quarter century ago. Gallagher is aware that he’ll likely have to find a new number for his Canucks jersey. He’s thought about it, but isn’t prepared to reveal his choice just yet.
“I have an idea,” he said. “I want to think about it a little bit more, but I do have an idea. Maybe I’ll save it in case I don’t (get it), but I have a little bit of an inkling of what I might wear.”
New number. New city. And a whole new adventure for Brendan Gallagher. And it’s one he can’t wait to begin.
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