Canadiens May Replace Gallagher As Another Captain – Hockey Writers – Montreal Canadiens

There is a flip side to every coin. While trading Brendan Gallagher freed up space for the Montreal Canadiens and took a (50 percent) bad contract off the books, the Habs lost their longest-tenured player, a consummate professional and workhorse, a beloved fan favorite as a result and a valuable leader in the locker room and on the ice.

For all those features and more, Gallagher more than earned his jersey letters, both his “CH” and his “A” as co-captain. Replacing him for the 2026-27 season won’t be easy, but the Canadiens have plenty of options who should at least come close, joining Mike Matheson as a teammate and Nick Suzuki as a captain to form the core of the team’s leadership. Here are the top five:

5. Phillip Danault

Phillip Danault may have just been acquired by the Canadiens this past offseason, but this is his second stint with the franchise, bringing the 33-year-old veteran’s tenure with the team to parts of seven seasons. After Gallagher’s departure, only captain Nick Suzuki (and Jake Evans) have been with the team for a long time. That should not be a coincidence.

However, while Suzuki is signed until 2030, Danault becomes an unrestricted free agent for one season. Given the veteran’s age, it’s hard to see general manager Kent Hughes willing to commit to even a medium-term contract. A defensive specialist who provided much-needed stability down the middle down the stretch, he could otherwise be a decent option.

4. Josh Anderson

It’s worth noting that Josh Anderson has worn the Canadiens’ “A” before, back in 2020-21, with Elite Prospects, oddly in his first season with the Habs. Since then, despite often failing to live up to expectations (scoring the franchise’s first game-winning goal in the Stanley Cup Final since 1993 anyway), he has consistently shown up in terms of physicality and effort level every night. In the open, he would be an easy choice, but, with his contract also expiring in one year and not a lock to be re-signed, the Habs will likely go with someone who has a specific, long-term future with the organization.

3. Kaiden Guhle

Defenseman Kaiden Guhle is the first player on the list under contract through 2027, after signing a six-year, $33.3 million extension in 2024 (which took effect this season). He may have a different opinion on whether he’s worth his $5.55 million winnings, but the 24-year-old means a lot to the team as a two-way defenseman who looks set to break out statistically… if he can stay healthy for the rest of the season.

Guhle’s injury made him hit 70 games once in his four years of playing. However, he has been able to contribute at both ends of the ice, despite facing strong opposition players (0.2497 Quality of Competition relative Corsi for, per DobberSports), with one of the team’s highest percentage of shifts started in the defensive position.

Admittedly, such postings are not kind to his base numbers. It speaks of his importance to the team and the level of the head coach Martin St. Louis trusted him with it, though.

2. Jake Evans

It’s the same situation with Jake Evans before. For better or worse, no Canadiens player starts more shifts on defense (a team-low 19.70% of his shifts start on offense, according to Natural Stat Trick).

The difference with Guhle is that, as mentioned earlier, Evans trails Suzuki (537) in franchise games (among active players), with 418. The number of two players in an organization may be at opposite ends of the spectrum. However, by signing him to a four-year, $11.4 million extension before the 2025 trade deadline, Hughes showed the extent to which he values ​​the troubled center.

It’s worth noting, Evans was arguably the top team in the trade and could have brought a good haul. By keeping him, Hughes seemed to make a smart decision to go and try to make the playoffs (a successful effort). Even more important for the purposes of this piece is that Evans decided not to use unrestricted free agency, where he could potentially earn more than $2.85 million on the open market, further demonstrating his commitment to the organization.

1. Lane Hutson

When it comes down to it, Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson is the best choice for a number of reasons: his stellar play that saw him tie Hockey Hall of Famer Larry Robinson for the single-season assist record by a defenseman in 2025-26, the accountability he’s shown on the rare occasions he’s made a mistake and appears to be at his most determined in eight years. A $70.8 million contract that would keep him in town until 2034, etc.

It’s all about him leading by example on and off the ice. While that’s true to varying degrees in relation to the other names on this list, Hutson is the best player by a mile. That alone shouldn’t be a reason to call him one, but, because of his ability to open the game in any given game, he personifies better than anyone else who has written what it means to take over.

Gallagher’s small size can be misleading, because his size certainly hasn’t stopped him from doing his best every night to get the job done. He may not have always been successful, but he has his fingers in the club’s current culture that way. That ironically leaves some big metaphorical skates to fill, but Hutson seems like a good fit.