Player Discussion Brendan Gallagher: all heart, no hands

[Zorba]

Some people on here deserve to be fans of the Buffalo Sabres.

Why cuz we can’t question Gallagher’s production ??
Mathews and Mcdavid got questioned but Gallagher can’t. Lol

 

[Zorba]

Never question Gallagher…

his salary won’t equal his play

No but players like Mathews , Mcdavid and marner can be questioned. Not Gallagher. Just ridiculous

 

[Miller Time]

i think it's entirely possible to love how he competes and dislike the contract he's about to start.

There is very little chance that he's able to be a solid contributor for his cap cost for the duration... he just isn't good enough outside of his crash/bang approach to be very effective, and that approach is only going to be less and less effective as his body continues to break down.

Only real question is how many decent years we get out of him. Ladd is a good example... signs a 7 year deal @5.5, has 2 mediocre seasons (while bringing grit and leadership), then injuries & his play drops his impact so badly he winds up waiver fodder and minors burried by year 4 of his deal... anchor of a contract for the isles for 2 more years. Gally seems heading for a very similar fate.

 

[Frank Drebin]

f*** I couldn't stand watching him out there, really not looking forward to that contract.

 

[Zorba]

i think it's entirely possible to love how he competes and dislike the contract he's about to start.

There is very little chance that he's able to be a solid contributor for his cap cost for the duration... he just isn't good enough outside of his crash/bang approach to be very effective, and that approach is only going to be less and less effective as his body continues to break down.

Only real question is how many decent years we get out of him. Ladd is a good example... signs a 7 year deal @5.5, has 2 mediocre seasons (while bringing grit and leadership), then injuries & his play drops his impact so badly he winds up waiver fodder and minors burried by year 4 of his deal... anchor of a contract for the isles for 2 more years. Gally seems heading for a very similar fate.

Gallagher will never elevate come playoff time because of how he plays. He will always be injured with something or another. He’s been a great hab but the 6 year deal will suck ass

 

[Scriptor]

People talkshiting against a guy that was playong injured, that was bleeding game after game for their team, can literally go puck themself hard.

stupid fans.

Agree, but legitimate to worry that the guy has been injured and useless in the last two playoffs we have played (not his fault we missed so many playoffs before that).

It's normal to worry he will break down again and not help us come playoff time.

I personally dont see why you play two guys who have no step left in their games because of injury in Toffoli and Gallagher when you could have inserted KK and Tatar into the lineup instead.

I dont see how those two could not have provided are than players playing at not even 50% from what we saw on the ice.

 

[CristianoRonaldo]

He's a warrior, too bad we needed offence from him.

 

[abo9]

This is gonna be lucic and Ladd after 2 years. And I’m a Gallagher fan

We were not gonna get rid of him. Suicide move for MB. And he had the leverage and comparatives to go for a long term, expensive contract. I think we got out okay in the end, though obviously it's gonna look bad soon

 

[Harry Kakalovich]

i think it's entirely possible to love how he competes and dislike the contract he's about to start.

There is very little chance that he's able to be a solid contributor for his cap cost for the duration... he just isn't good enough outside of his crash/bang approach to be very effective, and that approach is only going to be less and less effective as his body continues to break down.

Only real question is how many decent years we get out of him. Ladd is a good example... signs a 7 year deal @5.5, has 2 mediocre seasons (while bringing grit and leadership), then injuries & his play drops his impact so badly he winds up waiver fodder and minors burried by year 4 of his deal... anchor of a contract for the isles for 2 more years. Gally seems heading for a very similar fate.

I don't love the contract either, but it only becomes a problem if his play severely deteriorates in the first couple of seasons.

 

[Miller Time]

I don't love the contract either, but it only becomes a problem if his play severely deteriorates in the first couple of seasons.

29pts (16g) in 57 games this year... that's not a great starting point.

 

[Bourne Endeavor]

I’m tired of hearing about the injury excuses. He simply f***ing suck. Utter trash. I’m so done with him.

So you're tired of hearing about the exact reason he was trash? We'll just pretend injuries have no impact on a player's performance, especially a hand injury on a goal scorer?

 

[calder candidate]

Love Gallagher but that contract will already be a issue next year… MB paid for past performance and leadership which he could have at league minimum…!

 

[David71]

his heart is great, but that contract and the style that he plays really breaks down his body.. so many injuries..

 

[Danadiens]

Only player who was worse than him was Merill.

He failed 99% of his offensive plays. As a foward.

Yes, even Gus was better.

It was pretty sad to watch, because you know he wants to win, but so do I and yet I don't play for the Canadiens.

 

[JeffreyLFC]

Gallagher is as of now... the highest paid forward on the team for the next 6 years...

 

[Kojo]

Without him the Habs wouldn't even be in the playoffs. He only had 6 points in the playoffs which is sad, but he had a game winning goal against Winnipeg.

 

[Kojo]

Gallagher is as of now... the highest paid forward on the team for the next 6 years...

We could have used a guy like Kucherov who was off the book because TB couldn't add him to the salary cap.

 

[Draft]

Full of injuries and playing on a shutdown line after missing the end of the regular season? I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for next year.

 

[No More Subban]

I still believe in Gally. Just needs to get healthy! I know what he brings to the table when healthy.

He has 14g, 9a in 35 games this season before the injury, on pace for another 30+ goal season in an 82 game schedule.

But he was obviously in a lot of pain all playoffs. I thought he was at about 70% when he came back.

It's unfortunate that he had to play through injuries when the team needed him the most. And that's probably why he got really emotional in his presser. He knows that he could've done more.

But this is what I love about him. He's a warrior and he never makes excuses.

I'm not even worried. He'll be back.

 

[Legend123]

He was on pace for 50 points I believe

Not a bad year

 

[Captain Mountain]

Why cuz we can’t question Gallagher’s production ??
Mathews and Mcdavid got questioned but Gallagher can’t. Lol

I'm not sure some on here understand what "questioning" means. Because that's not what's really happening.

 

[Andy]

Sometimes I wish he would take the time off if he’s injured. Otherwise all those injuries compound themselves, making himself ineffective.

still one of my favorite players on the club, but at some point, the tough guy attitude needs to put aside for some real healing.

 

[Number 57]

It's tough to produce when put in a shutdown role with linemates that are offensive black holes.

The offensive blackhole IS Gallagher

Gallagher is the one who has no idea what to do with the puck and loses it all the time. He gives it away so easily. Absolute joke.

And he couldn't snipe the puck to save his life. He is not an offensive player anymore. He's a 4th line grinder.

 

[Mike8]

i think it's entirely possible to love how he competes and dislike the contract he's about to start.

There is very little chance that he's able to be a solid contributor for his cap cost for the duration... he just isn't good enough outside of his crash/bang approach to be very effective, and that approach is only going to be less and less effective as his body continues to break down.

Only real question is how many decent years we get out of him. Ladd is a good example... signs a 7 year deal @5.5, has 2 mediocre seasons (while bringing grit and leadership), then injuries & his play drops his impact so badly he winds up waiver fodder and minors burried by year 4 of his deal... anchor of a contract for the isles for 2 more years. Gally seems heading for a very similar fate.

Gallagher's positioning and puck battling ability is exceptionally strong. Getting into passing lanes, forcing turnovers, aggressive forecheck (aggressive insofar as positioning--not physicality) and generally just reading the play and seeing the ice--this is what has made Gallagher a very strong player. He's better known for taking abuse in front of the net, but his ability to see the ice and track the puck is second only to Corey Perry on the team. Those attributes are borderline elite from Gallagher. That's also what makes him so dangerous around the net; his superior ability to track the puck allows him to get to loose pucks faster than his opponents.

I don't expect this primary skill of Gallagher's to deteriorate with age. He's also never been fast. So I have some hope that he'll maintain a high level of play. That said, it's hard to disagree that $6.5m is an obscenely high price tag for a player whose body was already breaking down by the time he became a pro.

I think the disdain for Gallagher's play in these playoffs are wholly unwarranted. It seemed to me as though Gallagher was the superior defensive player on his unit; that he clogged up the neutral zone exceptionally well; led the team in its forcing turnovers and making breakouts for opposing D very difficult all playoffs long (up until the TB series); and Gallagher is often the player on his unit that leads the zone exit (he's very, very good at lobbing the puck up ice without triggering icing, but good enough to get a line change in). He's also very dependable to get the puck deep, keep plays simple, not turnover in the neutral zone, etc. Just a very, very smart, fundamentally strong player who sees the ice exceptionally well, and can hopefully help cement these fundamentals into players like Caufield going forward.

 

[Miller Time]

Gallagher's positioning and puck battling ability is exceptionally strong. Getting into passing lanes, forcing turnovers, aggressive forecheck (aggressive insofar as positioning--not physicality) and generally just reading the play and seeing the ice--this is what has made Gallagher a very strong player. He's better known for taking abuse in front of the net, but his ability to see the ice and track the puck is second only to Corey Perry on the team. Those attributes are borderline elite from Gallagher. That's also what makes him so dangerous around the net; his superior ability to track the puck allows him to get to loose pucks faster than his opponents.

I don't expect this primary skill of Gallagher's to deteriorate with age. He's also never been fast. So I have some hope that he'll maintain a high level of play. That said, it's hard to disagree that $6.5m is an obscenely high price tag for a player whose body was already breaking down by the time he became a pro.

I think the disdain for Gallagher's play in these playoffs are wholly unwarranted. It seemed to me as though Gallagher was the superior defensive player on his unit; that he clogged up the neutral zone exceptionally well; led the team in its forcing turnovers and making breakouts for opposing D very difficult all playoffs long (up until the TB series); and Gallagher is often the player on his unit that leads the zone exit (he's very, very good at lobbing the puck up ice without triggering icing, but good enough to get a line change in). He's also very dependable to get the puck deep, keep plays simple, not turnover in the neutral zone, etc. Just a very, very smart, fundamentally strong player who sees the ice exceptionally well, and can hopefully help cement these fundamentals into players like Caufield going forward.

that's a much better/more nuanced description of his play and impact than "crash/bang"... which admittedly was too narrow a description. The perry comparison of how he understands the game is apt, and, i think highlights why Gallagher's contract situation is so unfortunate. Unlike Perry, Gallagher doesn't have a fraction of the puck skills or shooting ability. So as his skating (for which both players were never strengths) deteriorates, his ability to do many of the things you describe, well, will also deteriorate very quickly... without the ability to "fall back" on other skill areas to mitigate or offset the decline.

the disdain accompanies the expectations... 6 pts in 22 games for a player about to be the highest-paid forward for a team is, understandably, very underwhelming. Evans, Byron, Lekhonen... these guys all contributed some very strong defensive play and similarl offensive output, but were widely lauded and appreciated for their play. Gallagher would've been in the same boat were he staring at UFA status or a few more seasons at 3.5M. That he's about to earn double that is why expectations were so much higher (rightfully so i'd argue) and why his impact left most quite disappointed (with the impact... anyone criticizing the effort the guy put in is out to lunch, obviously)