The Canucks brought Brendan Gallagher in for more than his name and his résumé. They brought him in because they believe he can help shape what this team looks and feels like every day.
That was the message from general manager Ryan Johnson on Wednesday morning as training camp opened. Johnson pushed back on the buzzword that usually gets attached to moves like this, saying, “Culture, to me, is one of the most overused words in sports and business,” Johnson told reporters Wednesday morning ahead of Canucks training camp.
“I don’t feel a lot of people really know what it means. But we’ve talked about an environment that we want to build here.”
Gallagher is one of the veterans added with that goal in mind, alongside Luke Schenn and Jamie Oleksiak. All three arrive with experience, leadership, and the expectation that their influence won’t stop when the puck drops.
Schenn said Gallagher had already reached out after the signing. “He’s already been texting me here since the news came out,” Schenn said about Gallagher after signing with the Canucks. “We’re both really excited to come join the Canucks, and obviously we’re experienced guys and feel like we can definitely help out in different areas.
“The big word is culture, and we’d really, really like to help out any way we can with that.”
Gallagher’s own view is straightforward: he wants to help the younger players and speed up their growth as professionals.
“I hope there’s some young players I can help out, help expedite their development in certain areas of what being a pro is all about,” said Gallagher. “One of the most important things we did [in Montreal]…we created a really good culture, and that comes from your darkest days and having guys that want to be around and are committed to the process.
“Any organization, whether sport or anything, is nothing without culture, and first and foremost that will be the focus, and I think that’s something I can help with.”
What’s easy enough to project with Schenn and Oleksiak becomes much murkier with Gallagher. Schenn is a known quantity for Canucks fans after two previous stints in Vancouver, though at 36 and with younger defencemen pushing for minutes, he’s expected to have a smaller on-ice load this time around. Oleksiak also fits into a clearer picture, giving Vancouver a left-side option on the top two pairings until Zeev Buium and Elias Pettersson force their way past him.
Gallagher is the real question mark.
He spent his entire NHL career in Montreal before this move, piling up 246 goals and 487 points in 911 games. Just one season ago, he scored 21 goals.
But last year in Montreal, his role shrank sharply. He mostly skated on the third line at even strength, though his ice time looked more like that of a fourth-liner, and he also saw time on the second power-play unit.
His average of 12:21 per game was the lowest of his career.
The playoffs told the same story. Gallagher sat as a healthy scratch for Montreal’s first four games against Tampa Bay, then returned for Game 5 and scored the opening goal.
Even then, his usage stayed limited: under seven minutes in that game and the next two as the Canadiens finished off the Lightning. He didn’t play at all in the second and third rounds.
By then, the message was clear.
Montreal had moved on. Vancouver is now trying to figure out what Gallagher can still give on the ice.
That raises the obvious lineup questions. Can he get top-six work with Elias Pettersson or Marco Rossi?
Will he land on one of the power-play units? Is another 20-goal season still in the range of outcomes at 33?
Or does he settle into a lower-line role, where the Canucks can lean on his edge and experience rather than big minutes? Penalty-kill duty seems unlikely; Gallagher has never really been used there, with a career high of just 15 seconds per game shorthanded back in 2017-18.
Head coach Manny Malhotra wasn’t interested in locking anyone into a spot this early. “The players’ play will dictate where they belong in the lineup,” he said, repeating the idea so often during Wednesday’s press conference that he eventually turned it into a joke, drawing laughter.
That leaves the door open for Gallagher to climb higher if he earns it - and also for younger players like Linus Karlsson or Jonathan Lekkerimäki to push their way into the picture.
For Malhotra, Gallagher’s value starts with how he carries himself.
“When you look at Gally, the thing that stands out for us is his presence in terms of the way he competes and the tenacity that he plays with and the passion that he has for the game,” continued Malhotra. “So, for me, the importance of a guy like him in our room in terms of teaching what the game’s supposed to look like from an intensity standpoint, from a competitive standpoint, that’s gonna be a big part of his role.
“We’ve talked about it over and over. The way we practice is gonna dictate a lot of how we play. So, his energy and his excitement when he comes to the rink, the way he competes in practice, having seen it firsthand, is something that we’re looking forward to for this group.”
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