Can Montreal’s super pest bounce back from an injury plagued campaign? Are 30 goals an attainable target? Will he remain the most annoying Montreal Canadien now that Andrew Shaw has joined the Canadiens’ ranks? Let’s find out.
2015-2016
What was a brilliant start for both Gallagher and the club began unravelling towards the end of November when he broke two fingers which derailed an excellent campaign. Prior to his injury, Gallagher was on fire and flirting with a point-per-game ratio. He came back to a crumbling team and suffered a lower body injury towards the end of the season to cap off a miserable 2016 although he made it back for the final four games.
Prior to his initial hand injury, Gallagher was enjoying his best offensive spell in his NHL career, looking to hit new offensive personal bests. Even with a shortened, injury-riddled season, he managed his best points-per-game ratio in four NHL seasons.
Season Stats: GP 53, G 19, A 21, PTS 40, +/- +13, PIM 24, PPG 7, SHG 0, GWG 0, SOG 173, ATOI 16:35
5 Year Averages
(Because of the lockout-shortened season, we are pro-rating all of 2012-13’s numbers over a typical 82-game year.)
GP: 73
Goals: 22
Assists: 22
Points: 44
+/-: +13
PIMS: 46
PPG: 5
GWG: 3
Shots: 210
2016-2017 Role
His leadership exceeds his years and it’s a telling sign that there have been rumblings of how he should have been captain over Max Pacioretty. Regardless of the speculation, he’s a young leader in the dressing room and a core component of the team that provides energy and sparks with his never ending work ethic. Teammates have been on record saying how tough it is to not give your all when you have one of the smallest guys on the team taking the abuse that he does to get results.
From an offensive perspective, you fully expect him to continue where he left off last season, before he was injured and returned to a team in complete tailspin. The Pacioretty-Galchenyuk-Gallagher line saw success and unless there’s issues/injuries on the second line, this should be your first line.
He was among, if not the team leader in several scoring categories before his hand injury.
Projected Stats
Aside from his sophomore season, Gallagher has either hit 20+ goals or has been on pace to score that many. There’s no reason not to think that a healthy #11 won’t reach the mid-20’s and flirt with a 30-goal campaign if healthy.
He’ll be getting the ice-time and PP1 looks as he does his best not to have his ankles shattered or bones broken in front of the net by Shea Weber’s cannons. The offensive potential and upside is undoubtedly there. His PIMS have been lower the last few seasons but he shoots the puck whenever he gets a sniff at goal, so if your leagues work with these stats, he’ll get you a broad range of points.
GP: 80
Goals: 28
Assists: 30
Points: 58
+/-: +12
PIMS: 45
PPG: 9
GWG: 2
Shots: 235