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Canucks GM Ryan Johnson talks acquiring Gallagher from Canadiens, trading Höglander to Predators, and more
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Photo credit: © Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Jeff Paterson
Jun 29, 2026, 19:16 EDT
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In his quest to make the Vancouver Canucks a better, more competitive hockey club next season, new general manager Ryan Johnson figures he took a significant step forward with the acquisition of Brendan Gallagher. Hours after the deal, Johnson met the media via Zoom on Monday afternoon to discuss the addition of the veteran winger. He also shed some light on his reason for moving Nils Höglander to the Nashville Predators earlier in the day.
“Anytime somebody really wants to be in your organization, it’s hard not to love the idea of it,” Johnson said of Gallagher. “Then when you look at someone like Brendan with his experience and the passion he plays the game with, where we are as a group, Brendan feels like he’s got a lot of hockey left in him and a lot to prove off a little bit of a frustrating year for him. I think he’s going to come in here kicking and screaming. You hear me talk a lot about professionalism and quality of teammate – is there anybody that checks the boxes more than this guy? He is ecstatic. We are over the moon to have him.”
In addition to Gallagher’s abrasive, in-your-face style of play, Johnson lauded the 34-year-old for already buying into the reasons the club acquired him. The Canucks want Gallagher to challenge the existing roster to be better in all facets of the game. 
“He’s talking about just doing anything he can to help with where we’re at and help us grow,” Johnson explained. “The common word he kept using was build and that’s what we’re doing here is trying to build something, an environment that is strong and that is sustainable and he’s going to be a massive piece of that.”
While they were two separate transactions involving two other teams, in some ways Gallagher is a straight swap for Nils Höglander. The 25-year-old Swede had a difficult season, never seemingly recovering from preseason ankle surgery. When he did return to the lineup, he struggled to find a prescribed role with the hockey club. Johnson didn’t see that changing under new head coach Manny Malhotra and felt it was best to give Höglander a fresh start elsewhere. That’s why he was dealt to Nashville for a third-round draft choice.
“I want to get role definition into this hockey team,” Johnson said. “I had a really good discussion with Hoggy about a different opportunity based on what maybe I felt would have been missing for him here in a role and a true identity that is only fair for him to have. Out of the gates, we have more of an identity to our group. Hoggy is a heck of a person and a heck of a player and he’s going to get a great opportunity in Nashville. But I felt this gave us a little bit more definition and role identity that I’m seeking to have here and something I’ll continue to work on in the next few days.”
As for Johnson’s plans heading into free agency on Wednesday, he once again was quick to point to his long-term vision for the hockey club and didn’t sound like a manager looking to make any kind of splash on the open market.
He did, however, indicate that a little more toughness is on his wish list for the Canucks.
“People that know me know I like size, I like speed, I like character,” he outlined. “I like stiffness by committee and not by one person or one line. Stiffness is contagious and when one commits to it, it usually trickles down to lines or to guys that you wouldn’t normally think are stiff players. I do want to be harder to play against. Obviously Brendan is extremely difficult to play against. He plays an inside game. And if I can tweak a few smaller things to continue that trend, I will.”
Johnson touched on a couple of other topics in his 15-minute chat with those who cover the hockey club. He confirmed that Alex Edler will be on the ice and heavily involved in the team’s development camp, which began over the weekend. A total of 25 prospects will take to the ice in Abbotsford for the first time on Tuesday. Workouts are open to the public. Johnson said he hopes to have an announcement on a coaching staff for Manny Malhotra by the end of this week, and he said he and the Sedins would get involved to help with the final decision for a new head coach in Abbotsford when Richard Seeley narrows his list of candidates down to the final three or four. He wouldn’t put a timeline on that decision, instead insisting getting it right was far more important than getting it done quickly.
Johnson also said he’s been blown away by the support of Canucks alumni wanting to see him restore a lustre to the organization. 
“It’s been amazing,” he said. “I had a coffee with (former GM) Brian Burke, sat down when he was in town, and to sit with him and see his passion and his excitement for me to take this challenge on. The amount of guys I played with or ex-Canucks that truly, really care. I take huge responsibility, those guys are fans around the world and I want to build something that everybody is really proud of. Players I’ve played with along the way have said ‘if I can help in any way in getting this organization back to where we want it to be, just call. Any time of the day. If you have a question or I can help in some capacity let me know’ and, that means a lot to me.”
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