Worrying words regarding Brendan Gallagher and the Montreal Canadiens

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Jeff Drouin
June 26, 2022 (12:46)

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It doesn't take an expert to see that forward Brendan Gallagher was not himself this season, slowing down considerably.

With the style of play he's been promoting, it's no surprise to see Gallagher having more and more trouble keeping up and staying healthy.

Gallagher, 30, has seven goals in 56 games this season (after 14 goals in 35 games in 2020-21).

When asked about his future in the NHL and whether he can return to the level of play he had a few years ago, the Tricolore's number 11 made an interesting revelation.

As reported by my colleague JB Gagné of Gohabsgo.com, recently on TSN 690, Gallagher made a disturbing statement.

Gally said it was crucial for him to (finally) have a full long summer this year, to allow his body to recover for next season.

That says a lot about the injuries he's carrying around as well as the overall condition of his body. It's a real of real work, but it unfortunately seems to be starting to catch up with him, as Arpon Basu of The Athletic explains:

"He's said many times that he's looking forward to a full summer to get his body ready to be good physically. The last two seasons have been long and his body hasn't allowed him to perform up to his expectations. My question is, if that's the case, and the Canadiens hope to one day in the next five years be a team that aspires to greatness and make it far in the playoffs, if Brendan Gallagher needs a full summer to play a full season, that's a bit of a contradiction, right?" It's a problem, if summers are short, that he won't be able to perform the season after. If everything goes well for the Canadiens, eventually Gallagher will be in a situation where he doesn't have a full summer to prepare!" - Arpon Basu

Basically, what Basu is explaining is that Gallagher's body might not "recover" so easily from a long playoff run. So, if the Habs manage to make it far in the playoffs (relatively soon), it could mortgage the years to come, for the CH's fiery #11.

Worrying news for Gally.

Remember that Gallagher still has five seasons left on his 6.5M per year contract.

Credit: TSN