Brendan Gallagher, benched tonight (even though he’s healthy)

Brendan Gallagher has played four games for the Canucks since the start of the season.

And… things haven't been going too well for him so far.

He's having a rough start with his new team and has (already) been criticized for his performance in Vancouver. That's (surely) not what he would have hoped for.

Gally is struggling to keep up, and as a result, he'll be left out of the lineup tonight even though he's healthy.

He was among the extras on the ice this morning with the Canucks, which sends a pretty clear message. I'll repeat what I mentioned earlier in the article: this is (surely) not what he would have wanted…

Even in Vancouver, Brendan Gallagher is struggling to break into the lineup. He'll be left out of the lineup tonight against Carolina.

— Anthony Marcotte (@anthonymarcotte) October 8, 2026

Let's go back a few months…

And in Montreal, some people were publicly debating Gally and the possibility of him playing 1,000 career games in the NHL (and with the Habs).

But now, clearly… it's obvious that would have been difficult. The Canadiens would probably have been forced to play him out of respect because he isn't even capable of playing for one of the worst teams in the NHL on paper.

And the Habs, for their part, have their sights set on bigger things: they wouldn't have had the luxury of using a roster spot to play a guy who can't contribute on the ice.

Although we do see Kirby Dach in a Habs uniform night after night… hehe.

Seriously, though, we might have reached that point with Gally. He's sacrificed himself throughout his career; we know his body has taken a beating… and we know he's been on the downward slope for a few years now.

That's leading to the results we're seeing today.

Overtime

It remains to be seen, but if this keeps up…

It'll be interesting to see how Gallagher's situation plays out in Vancouver. If the Canucks don't have room for him anymore and the guy still wants to play… what happens next?

We'll see in due time.