Stu Cowan: Canadiens' Brendan Gallagher hopes his dangerous breaks are over

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Brendan Gallagher has misplaced observe of what number of bones he has damaged throughout his 11 seasons with the Canadiens.

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“I’ll tally it up in a number of years,” Gallagher stated final Friday when the Canadiens met with the media for the ultimate time this season at their follow rink in Brossard. “However it’s beginning to add up, for positive.”

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He can add two extra breaks this season — and each occasions it was his proper ankle.

Gallagher broke his ankle blocking a shot through the Canadiens’ 14th sport — a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Nov. 9 on the Bell Centre. He performed eight extra video games on the damaged ankle earlier than sitting out for 13 video games. He returned to play three extra video games earlier than breaking the ankle once more and lacking 32 video games.

Gallagher isn’t positive precisely how he broke his ankle the second time, however he did go down exhausting throughout a follow in Nashville on Jan. 2 and needed to depart the ice briefly earlier than returning to complete the follow. Gallagher felt ache in his ankle when he went down, however needed to complete what was a troublesome follow together with his teammates as a result of they have been being held accountable by coach Martin St. Louis following a 9-2 loss to the Capitals on New 12 months’s Eve in Washington.

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That’s the kind of teammate Gallagher has all the time been. He’s a warrior.

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The day after that follow, Gallagher scored a objective in a 6-3 loss to the Predators and was then sidelined till March 21. He was capable of play the ultimate 12 video games with none ache in his ankle, ending the season with 8-6-14 totals in 37 video games.

“It’s actually unfortunate, actually, to interrupt one thing twice,” Gallagher stated. “Anybody who is aware of something … you break a bone, it heals, and it’s purported to be stronger.”

Does he remorse taking part in on the damaged ankle the primary time?

“That’s one thing that I’ve had a whole lot of time to consider,” he stated. “It’s actually exhausting to vary your id as a participant and every thing that I’ve all the time believed in. However, definitely, in the long run I ended up lacking extra time as a consequence of it. That’s one thing I’ll have to consider and going ahead most likely be a little bit bit extra sincere with myself about. Perhaps a little bit bit smarter on the identical time.”

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Teammate Sean Monahan additionally performed on a damaged foot this season. Compensating for that led to a groin damage that ended his season after solely 25 video games and required surgical procedure.

“It’s actually exhausting to explain the mindset that we now have,” Gallagher stated. “It possibly doesn’t make sense, however we’ve executed it a lot and Sean could be the identical method. We’ve performed by a lot up to now, handled a lot, and also you all the time simply type of consider that you simply’ll be capable of come by on the opposite facet. However I assume as you become older, possibly it’s not as straightforward and we now have to be a little bit bit smarter. It’s a type of issues that you simply self-assess and going ahead one thing I’ll be taught from, for positive.”

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Gallagher will flip 31 on Could 6 and has 4 extra seasons left on his contract with an annual salary-cap hit of US$6.5 million.

The 5-foot-9, 184-pounder has paid a bodily value for the aggressive fashion he performs. He has damaged his left hand twice when hit by pictures and suffered a damaged jaw through the 2020 playoffs whereas he was taking part in with a tear in his hip. The subsequent 12 months he performed by a groin damage whereas the Canadiens superior to the Stanley Cup remaining earlier than shedding to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Gallagher stated the optimistic side about this season is that he didn’t have any points together with his earlier accidents. Gallagher believes he can nonetheless be the participant he was when he had back-to-back 30-goal seasons in 2017-18 and 2018-19 whereas by no means lacking a sport. He confirmed up at coaching camp this season feeling more healthy than he had in a very long time.

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“For me, that was the irritating factor,” he stated. “I got here into camp really feeling actually good health-wise. I used to be feeling like my outdated self — I say outdated self, nevertheless it wasn’t too way back — after which for one thing to occur so early that was a little bit bit out of your management. It’s a damaged bone. It’s not like my physique broke down. It’s not one thing that I may management in the summertime.

“So getting in (to subsequent season) the optimistic facet of it’s there wasn’t a whole lot of put on and tear on my physique this 12 months,” he added. “I’m capable of begin my summer time off straight away and actually put in some good work and hopefully subsequent 12 months I’m capable of keep within the lineup and be there for my teammates and be accountable as a result of I’m assured that if I play a full season the numbers and every thing will handle itself.”

Hopefully for Gallagher these numbers don’t embrace extra damaged bones.

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