In the ancient days of Celtic lore, a warrior leaving home to fight battles elsewhere would kneel at the feet of his elders and accept a blessing, calling on the earth, the elements and the gods to protect him and ensure his timely return. One such traditional blessing goes:
"We bathe your palms
In the showers of wine,
In the crook of the kindling,
In the seven elements,
In the sap of the tree,
In the milk of honey,
We place nine pure, choice gifts
In your clear beloved face:
The gift of form,
The gift of voice,
The gift of fortune,
The gift of goodness,
The gift of eminence,
The gift of charity,
The gift of integrity,
The gift of true nobility,
The gift of apt speech."
In the realm of the Montreal Canadiens, nobody has a bigger heart, more devotion to the sweater or is a tougher warrior than Brendan Gallagher. From the first time he suited up in Habs colours, he threw himself into the fray every night with everything he had. The fresh-faced kid...an undersized fifth-round draft pick...burst onto the scene with a homing pigeon's instinct for the net, a willingness to take more physical punishment than a red-white-and-blue pinata and a shit-eating grin that drove opponents crazy.
He evolved from goofy, energetic rookie to battle-hardened, bloody-nosed competitor. He became a team leader and role model for the young Canadiens who are now trying to build themselves into a championship winner. He's been, as an Irish mom would say, "Like the capelin: all guts."
Gallagher grew from boy to man in Montreal. His teammates surrounded him and held him up after the death of his mother. He married and became a father as a Canadien. Never did he forget the importance of the team to his adopted city.
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A few years ago, Gallagher and the Canadiens came to Newfoundland to play in the Hockeyville exhibition game the NHL holds each year. The team had chartered three buses to transport the players and all their gear to the rink.
Gallagher arrived on the first bus, and there was already a gang of kids there, anxiously waiting for a glimpse of their heroes. Many players smiled and waved as they passed through the crowd to the arena doors, but number 11 stopped. He signed every hand, sweater, photo and scrap of paper shoved at him. He posed for dozens of photos with young fans and took the time to ask them about their own hockey teams. He was genuinely nice to every person he met.
Once inside, Gallagher was one of the two players (Cole Caufield was the other) who handled the media availability. Arena staff hauled out a couple of wooden boxes so the vertically challenged duo could see over the heads of all the camera people. Gally stayed until every reporter got what he or she needed before heading for the dressing room to suit up. After practice, there he was again, patiently answering some of the same questions from another group of hacks.
There was no question, at that time, that Gallagher was the heart and soul veteran of the team who would do anything asked of him.
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Fast forward to today. As hard as Gallagher smiled at his first training camp, he cried just as hard when announcing he's leaving his hockey home. After becoming a healthy scratch toward the end of the season, he barely saw ice in the playoffs.
With the realization that the coaching staff obviously doesn't feel he's got anything more to give, Gally is facing a new reality he's seen up close in teammates who left before him. He thinks of himself as still having something left in the tank, even if Habs management doesn't agree. He sounds, like any warrior would, as though he still has something to prove to the people who don't want him anymore.
Canadiens fans wish the player and the person a chance to give it one more shot. If anyone deserves a new start, it's Gallagher.
"Gallagher is a player on Montreal that I admire," said the late Claude Lemieux. "He plays a lot of the same game I played. Especially for a player of his size he plays with tenacity. He's physical, he's in your face and he won't back down. Players that have that character will go far in the playoffs."
Gallagher didn't get to repeat the Habs run to the Finals in 2021 and, if he goes to Vancouver as he's suggested is a possibility, a Stanley Cup is probably not in his future. Still, for a guy who statistically should never even have seen 14 NHL regular seasons, he's got of lot of which to be proud.
As he walks away from the Canadiens' room for the last time, he should know all of Montreal and fans everywhere send him off with a warrior's blessing.
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