Canadiens' Brendan Gallagher thrilled to have Phillip Danault back

This has been a tough season for the Canadiens’ Brendan Gallagher.

It has also been a rough one for Phillip Danault, who the Canadiens acquired from the Los Angeles Kings on Friday night in exchange for a second-round pick at next year’s NHL Draft.

Gallagher and Danault had a lot of success together when they were linemates with the Canadiens, along with Tomas Tatar. During the 2018-19 season that trio combined for 70 goals and 163 points. Gallagher had 33-19-52 totals and Danault had 12-41-53 totals. It was Gallagher’s second straight 30-goal season after scoring 31 the previous year with Danault as his centre.

This season, Gallagher, 33, has 2-9-11 totals in 34 games and Danault, 32, had 0-5-5 totals in 30 games with the Kings.

Last week, when rumours began the Kings might be looking to trade Danault, Gallagher was asked what it would mean for him to have his old linemate return to Montreal.

“I got to see Phil a couple of times in the summer,” Gallagher said. “Obviously, I loved playing with Phil. I had a lot of success with Phil and there’s a good reason for that. He’s a really good player, he makes your life easy. He’s one of those players that thinks the game at a really elite level and would help any team. Had a lot of good years playing with Phil.. … I got a really good relationship with Phil.”

So nobody on the Canadiens would have been happier than Gallagher when he learned late Friday night Danault was returning to Montreal.

Maybe the trade can get both players back on track.

“It’s nice to have Phil back,” Gallagher told reporters at the Bell Centre after the Canadiens’ morning skate Saturday ahead of a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins (7 p.m., SNE, City, TVA Sports). “A lot of good years with Phil and he knows what it means to be a Montreal Canadien. Excited. It will be different for him. There’s a lot of changes around here since he left. When he gets here, I’m sure he’ll fit right in.”

There are only five players still with the Canadiens who were there when Danault helped them advance to the Stanley Cup final in 2021 — Gallagher, Nick Suzuki, Josh Anderson, Jake Evans and Cole Caufield.

After a contract dispute with former general manager Marc Bergevin, Danault decided to leave Montreal in the summer of 2021 and signed a six-year, US$33-million contract with the Los Angeles Kings as a free agent. He has one more season left on that contract with an annual salary-cap hit of US$5.5 million.

Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis said Saturday morning he expects to use Danault in a defensive role, but isn’t sure exactly how yet. It would definitely make sense to reunite Danault and Gallagher on a line.

“It would be great,” Gallagher said. “Me and Phil had a lot of success in the past. I know exactly how he likes to play. He does a lot of things to help his linemates. If I get that opportunity I’d be very excited.”

Danault is expected to join the Canadiens in Boston, where they will play the Bruins on Tuesday (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS).

“I talked to him a little bit last night,” Gallagher said Saturday morning. “He’s obviously very excited. It’s been a little bit of a frustrating year for him, but when he went to L.A. he had a lot of success. He did the same thing he always did for us here. We know his game, so he’ll fit in nicely. Looking forward to welcoming him.

“I know he’s looking forward to it,” Gallagher added. “He obviously had a lot of questions, like Phil does. But he’s a very good player, a very smart player. He’ll pick it up quick. We’re looking forward to welcoming him. … I know he’s been frustrated in not getting the opportunity that he probably deserves (in Los Angeles). Good player, good friend, good teammate. Looking forward to having him.”

Jacob Fowler will start in goal for the Canadiens on Saturday night against the Penguins and defenceman Mike Matheson will return to the lineup after missing the last two games with an upper-body injury. Defenceman Jayden Struble will be a healthy scratch.

When Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes met with the media Saturday morning to discuss the Danault trade, he was also asked about the Canadiens’ goaltending situation. Samuel Montembeault will make his second straight start with the AHL’s Laval Rocket on a conditioning stint Saturday afternoon in Cleveland against the Monsters and is expected to rejoin the Canadiens on Sunday in Pittsburgh, where the Canadiens will play the Penguins in the second of back-to-back weekend games (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS). Expect Jakub Dobes to start in goal for the Canadiens on Sunday.

Hughes said the solution to the Canadiens’ goaltending situation is internal and Montembeault was sent to Laval to get a little break from the Montreal spotlight while getting a chance to regain his confidence. Montembeault allowed four goals on 24 shots in a 5-2 loss to the Monsters on Thursday night in Cleveland with the last goal an empty-netter.

Hughes said he knows what kind of goalie Montembeault is after his performance the previous three seasons, when he posted save percentages of .901, .903 and .902, respectively, and he can still be a good goalie. The question, Hughes added, is whether it will take Montembeault a week, two weeks or a month to find his game again. Hughes said the Canadiens were trying to accelerate that process by sending Montembeault to Laval.

scowan@postmedia.com

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