Brendan Gallagher: the resurrection of the (little) Christ

And how did you like Logan Mailloux’s first game? And Lane Hutson’s second?

I thought the Franco-Ontarian Mailloux was good, even solid. He picked up an assist on a superb zone exit, he finished his game at plus-1, he directed pucks on net, he gave out shoulder shots and he defended well.

Mailloux was less flashy than Hutson, but he got the job done. It’s encouraging for the future. I don’t see how Mailloux could be cut after the Habs‘ next training camp. Especially since he’s already 6’3 and weighs about 220 pounds!

Lane Hutson, for his part, was much more spectacular than Mailloux (two assists in two games)… but he also made bigger blunders than Mailloux. Yes, Hutson danced on the blue line like he did in the NCAA… and yes, he showed the hockey world that he knows what to do with a puck…

But he also proved – unintentionally – that he was too frail and that he still had gaps in his defensive zone. Hutson is a diamond in the rough… a high-risk, high-reward asset.

He’ll need to bulk up over the summer (and eat a lot)… and at the risk of displeasing some fans, I think a year (alongside David Reinbacher) in Laval – as Logan Mailloux just did -, would be beneficial to him. We’ll see in September.

Remember: don’t put too much faith in a player’s first games in April when the season is underway. #Poehling

With Guhle, Xhekaj (and his two refurbished shoulders), Hutson, Mailloux, Reinbacher and the rest of the organization’s defensemen, we can still be very optimistic about the future of Montreal’s defensive brigade. Now it’s down to the attack…

Brendan Gallagher: the guy I stopped expecting
Yesterday morning, I told you that I wasn’t looking forward to Logan Mailloux’s recall. I’d heard about it, it had to happen, it was the plan, the guy had worked hard for it… but it wasn’t coming.

There’s another thing I wasn’t looking forward to: Brendan Gallagher’s success.

Gally hadn’t played 82 games in a single season since 2018-19…

He had just had seasons of 23, 24 and 14 points…

He had slowed down and the weight of the years seemed to weigh heavily on his shoulders (literally and figuratively)…

And he hadn’t had a very good start to the season.

Except what happened in early January: Brendan Gallagher became the player he once was. Or almost!

And he had perhaps his best stretch ever between April 9 and 16, when he collected eight points, including five goals, in five games. All this while playing between 12 and 15 minutes per game!

It wasn’t Christ who was resurrected at Easter this year, it was Gallagher’s little c*rist.

These recent successes have also enabled Gallagher to NOT break the Habs‘ single-season record for mediocrity in individual player differential.

We can be RELATIVELY optimistic about Gallagher’s expected performance in 2024-25. And the mere fact that we’ve seen him play in every one of the team’s games – and not shy away from physical contact – is superb news in itself! #Health

Gallagher finishes the 2023-24 season with 16 goals and 15 assists (31 points), making him the team’s fifth-highest scorer and seventh-highest scorer in 2023-24. Not bad for a guy who was said to be finished not so long ago…

Reminder: Brendan Gallagher has three years left on his contract at an average annual salary of $6.5 million, but with an actual salary of $9 million next season. All with a no-movement clause! Seeing him play and produce offensively is therefore a great idea.

The Gallagher – Newhook – Armia line-up could well be Martin St-Louis’ third next October. Against all odds…

A guy broken all over the place, a center who should theoretically play on the wing and a guy who was put through the waivers before being sent to Laval…