It’s not news per se that Montreal Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher has lost a step. That the Habs would actually sit the alternate captain as a healthy scratch kind of is, seeing as it’s the first time in his career the team has made the decision to sit him. It still wasn’t ultimately the best decision they could have made… at least not how they went about it anyway.
That’s not in reference to the Canadiens’ ensuing, disappointing loss to the visiting San Jose Sharks on Saturday night, at least not specifically. It’s more to do with the questionable deployment decisions head coach Martin St. Louis continues to make.
Gallagher Understandably Sits
To be fair, and honest, Gallagher is not contributing in line with his $6.5 million cap hit. Sitting him at this stage of his career, even for the odd game, is something all fans should acknowledge as a difficult decision on the part of St. Louis based on how much Gallagher has sacrificed physically for the organization over the last 14 seasons. St. Louis deserves all kinds of credit for making what was also the undeniably right decision, even if it maybe should have come sooner.
None of this should be any shock. The problem lies in the player coming in, in Gallagher’s place. And, no, that’s not Cole Caufield, who had missed a game due to illness and impressively picked up where he had left off, scoring the game’s opening goal against the Sharks. It’s Alexandre Texier, who had taken Caufield’s place on the top line and had gotten moved to Gallagher’s spot on the fourth, with Caufield ready to return to the lineup.
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Nothing is wrong with Texier. And, despite suggestions to the contrary in the media, nothing is wrong with his two-year extension. Arguing it was a mistake is like arguing you’ll forever regret not taking an umbrella with you when it rained that one time. Woe is you. It’s not like clothes, you know, dry. You took a gamble going umbrellaless. It didn’t pay off as you expected. You move on. With Patrik Laine’s $8.7 million cap hit coming off the books, devoting Texier’s $2.5 million to a similar spot on the roster is nothing to complain about, when the salary cap continues to rise, when as recently as last weekend against the Ottawa Senators a few games ago, the Frenchman proved he can slip into a top-six role without issue. So, what is the issue?
With Texier himself or his contract? Not a thing. It’s more so to do with the role into which he was inserted against the Sharks, if there were any expectations at all he’d put up points there. He’s just most effective in a top-six role.
Possible Gallagher Alternatives
This isn’t another piece written in honour of Gallagher, before he’s even yet to retire. This shouldn’t be seen as a piece whining about St. Louis, when overall, time and again, he’s proven himself to be the right man for the job. It’s not even a piece complaining about general manager Kent Hughes’ quiet trade deadline, even if this is maybe the point at which you wished he, who’s also proven himself to be the right man for the job, had channelled his inner Marc Bergevin and acquired an on-the-surface nothing bottom-six forward who can seamlessly replace a beleaguered Gallagher in the lineup, those games they feel he can’t go.
The irony is, Bergevin, Hughes’ predecessor, is the one who ill-advisedly re-signed Gallagher to his current long-term deal. Meanwhile, the argument is, Hughes was right not to do anything at the deadline, because, even though the Canadiens are good in 2025-26, trading away futures, even for bottom-six rentals, when their goaltending is as suspect as it is, would have been a mistake. You unfortunately can’t count on them drastically improving on their first-round finish this season, as much as you’d like to see them go on a long playoff run. The time for that is the near future, maybe as soon as 2026-27, but not now.
Thankfully, the proposed fix is very manageable. Switch Texier on the fourth line with Zachary Bolduc on the third. That would give the fourth more physicality, without really sacrificing speed. Any hesitation to pull the trigger would be understandable, seeing as the third line of Bolduc, Jake Evans and Kirby Dach has potential, but, without Bolduc scoring, which he hasn’t since Dec. 23, it’s a wasted opportunity to add additional offense to the third line, when Texier can’t reasonably be expected to contribute offensively at the absolute bottom of the lineup.
Alternatively, Sammy Blais, who was arguably signed last summer (and re-acquired off waivers only to be assigned and re-assigned to the Laval Rocket) for just this reason… to add a physical presence to the bottom six, is a perfect fit. He ranks just outside the top ten players in the league in terms of hits per game (3.7).
That would mean someone like Texier would be out of the lineup again, but “difficult decisions” and all. Someone needs to make them, even if trying to ice your best possible lineup shouldn’t be seen as one. If someone isn’t performing as well as someone else can in their place, that first players need to sit, regardless of their status as a veteran. It’s just unclear Texier does in place of Gallagher. So, while the thought process was correct, the execution was off.
That’s a fair assessment of the Sharks game as a whole. They need to be better, and, while they are with someone playing in place of Gallagher in principle, in practice they weren’t as good as they could be, just with some minor tweaks. The next time Gallagher sits, hopefully they adjust accordingly. The next time he plays, everyone should adjust expectations accordingly. He’s not the player he once was, but he still has something to offer in a reduced role, even if it isn’t every single game anymore.
