It's offseason of change for Canadiens' Gallagher

Brendan Gallagher

Right Wing - MTL

GOALS: 19 | ASST: 22 | PTS: 41
SOG: 211 | +/-: 4

Gorges took Gallagher in when the rookie forward arrived in the NHL at the start of the 2012-13 season.

"I don't know where I'm going to be next year," Gallagher told The Gazette in an interview published Monday. "I guess I have to move out on my own and start taking care of myself."

The 22-year-old is getting a head start, with a new condominium in his offseason home of Vancouver.

"I can't thank Josh enough for everything he did for me," Gallagher told reporter Dave Stubbs. "It says a lot about who he is, for two years taking me in and teaching me every single day.

FANTASY RANKINGS

Offseason top 200 fantasy ranks

NHL.com Fantasy Staff
With many players changing addresses over the past few weeks, NHL.com fantasy hockey insiders Matt Cubeta and Pete Jensen have put together their offseason top 200 fantasy hockey player rankings. READ MORE ›

MORE FANTASY HOCKEY COVERAGE ›

"And I have to thank Maggie as much as Josh," Gallagher said of Gorges' fiancée, now wife. "She put up with me and made sure there was food on the table every night. Those two were pretty important for me to be able to have success my first two years."

Gallagher was a Calder Trophy finalist after his rookie season, and in 2013-14 helped Montreal reach the Eastern Conference Final, where it lost to the New York Rangers.

Gorges, a defenseman and alternate captain, was traded to the Buffalo Sabres on July 1 for a second-round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft.

"For us to lose him, we are going to have a void to fill, but we feel we're capable of doing it," Gallagher said. "It puts more responsibility on guys like myself, younger players, who have to understand that we have to step up and take on some of the responsibility that Josh seemed to take care of very easily."

In Vancouver, Gallagher is training with Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic. The Canadiens eliminated the Bruins from the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the second round.

"We've definitely had a few conversations about that series," Gallagher told the newspaper. "We can laugh about it a little now, but we weren't laughing at the time. …

"The best part is that we went through that seven-game series against each other, and when you're working out beside the guy, you're competitive in the gym as well. It pushes you. … When you're racing him, you want to beat him. When you're running up the hill, you want to beat him. You want to do more in the gym lifting weights. It's a healthy competition. I like to see [him] have success, just not against us."