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The two calls which were scheduled for an hour in total both overrun because there were so many questions and so much to say. I’ll try my best to summarize what transpired from the GM first and the new 6.5 million man (as Louis Jean from TVA called Gallagher who said he absolutely hated that nickname and that he’d better find something else).
Bergevin
On Gallagher Several times throughout the call, Bergevin literally choked up answering questions about Gallagher and that is a true testament to how highly he thinks of him, he said the following amongst other things: Gally just checks all the boxes, he’s got everything you want in a player, his attitude, his character, his dedication… You know we always say that some players are high maintenance, some are low maintenance but Gallagher? He’s just no maintenance at all. In the 8 years I’ve been here when he sees me, it’s always just “Hi Berge… he doesn’t come to me to complain he just does what he does and does it so well. The contract we gave him is not for services rendered it’s for what he brings and will still bring, he scores 5 on 5 so often, the package he brings is just so hard to find. The whole “negotiations having broken down thing… was blown out of proportion, it was more of a misunderstanding than anything else, we got back to business and we made it work, we’re proud of this deal. At the end of the day, I wasn’t bothered about the public perception, he’s just the player we wanted and needed. I mean this is a guy that does out there and truly gives his all, he gets cross-checked in the face and he wants to keep playing! Some guys are missing a nail and they want to stop but not Gally, he’s always ready and never gives up. The first time I saw him play was with Team Canada and I noticed him right away… The order of selection really doesn’t matter, 1st round, 2nd or 3rd I mean look at him, a 5th round pick and what he is today! On his centre line Yeah, we’ve finally got some balance there and that’s really important, not only Suzuki and Kotkaniemi but also Ryan Poehling and Jake Evans. Danault is a great player and I’ve been a fan for a long time, I scouted him in Victoriaville when I was with Chicago, I had a hand in his drafting (I learned afterwards that Tampa Bay would have picked him if we hadn’t done it) and when I traded Weiser and Fleisch to Chicago, I asked for him. I go back a long way with him for sure. No 2 players are the same, but we always try to reach an agreement that is fair for both parties when we sign a contract. We’ll have to draw a line in the sand though, if we don’t want to lose our young players who will also need to be paid eventually like KK, Suzuki and Romanov.
On what’s next He was asked if a Danault’s extension was next, he replied: I think I’m going to take a bit of vacation. The last 10 days have been so intense, I saw them coming for sure but it’s been hectic. You know I don’t want to talk about contracts and I never do.
On what the playoffs have meant for the team Listen the pandemic has had awful repercussions on a lot of people, a lot of bad things have happened, but the silver lining, if you really want to see one, is that it gave us a lifeline. The fact that we went to Toronto, that we beat Pittsburgh and performed well against Philly definitely helped in being able to do all these moves. But it wasn’t just that, the fact that we were careful with our cap space in the last few years helped as well. The players we had our eye on in the last few years became available and well, the pieces fell into place. Geoff Molson has not put any pressure on me, I’ve always had his support but I’ve always told him exactly what I was doing and why I was doing it.
On why he signed Allen so quickly It wasn’t necessarily for the expansion draft, we already had McNiven that we could expose, but we’ve looked at the situation at what would be available next season and which teams would need a goaltender. If Seattle picks Allen, it means we don’t lose another player, but if they pick someone else, we’ll be happy to keep Jake. I spoke to my goalie coach and for now, we think that Cayden Primeau needs to play a lot to develop in the best possible way. He’s young and goalies can take a bit of time to get to the NHL. There’s still a lot of time left before the expansion draft and I can’t really say if we’ll try to influence who the Kraken picks one way or another.
On Kotkaniemi and Romanov Yes, we are currently working on a loan deal so that Kotkaniemi can play with his hometown team in Pori until the NHL is ready to start up again. Young players need to play and that’s what’s best for them. Of course, we’d like to be able to do something similar for Romanov, but the KHL is kind of different to work with…
On expectations We’ve done some very good work this offseason for sure and as a group, we’re very excited to get going. You tell me that the Sens’ owner said his team can think about a Cup within 4 years, I prefer to let our players show what they can do and how they’ll all gel together.
On Anderson and Toffoli Yes I see some similarities between Anderson and Gally, both of them were late draft picks and they’ve had to work for everything they got. Like Gally, he had to prove himself over and over and when you do that, you’re a hard worker. They are both right shots and so is Toffoli but they all bring something different. Toffoli is a sniper, Gally goes in the dirty area and he’s relentless while Andy is a big body. Gallagher may score less this year but that might just be that more players will score and we won’t have to rely on him so much.
To this, I’ll add that Bergevin also took the time to apologize for the mistake he made in French when announcing the first pick. To be honest, I really don’t think he needed to do that, if anyone doesn’t get that this is a guy who spent 20 plus year living in the USA and speaks English frequently every day, they need to get a life to be frank.
Gallagher Before answering any question, Gallagher took a time to give a shout out to both Bergevin and Geoff Molson, both called him after he signed the contract extension and both were very excited and happy. You can really tell that this player has a wonderful relationship with both the management and the ownership and that’s always great news.
On his contract The last 2 days were very hard, I had to contemplate the possibility of leaving and well, it’s all I’ve known and I’m not good with change, I didn’t want to think about leaving. To me, in the current context, the term, the security was important. The main priority was winning but the security came right after it. The fact that I’ve signed this extension, won’t change a thing, it won’t change me. I mean, since I’ve arrived here, my role has changed, but my job hasn’t. It’s nice to hear that Berge says I’m no maintenance but you know, I’m just here to do my job and looking forward, I’m happy to be able to help our younger players and mentor them the way guys did when I first arrived here. I’m looking forward to having Cole Caufield on the team as well, he’s one of the first guys who texted me to congratulate me.
On Bergevin getting emotional about him Well, I can tell you the respect goes both ways. He’s done so much for me since I got here and it’s impossible to speak of Berge without speaking of his passion. When he called after I signed the extension, he was so excited and he essentially said right, now that this is done, it’s time to go win!
On injuries and what he is the most proud of during his career I heard all these concerns about injuries when I signed my last contract and it’s the same thing again. I mean, the injuries I got, the broken hands, the broken jaw, anyone would have had those injuries…I feel just as well as I did a couple of years ago. As for what I’m most proud of, I love to prove people right. You know, the people who have believed in you, they are the ones that motivate you, it’s for them that you want to perform and be the best that you can be. You succeed because of them, I don’t pay any attentions to the naysayers and the negative voices out there, that’s not what fuels me, being positive is important.
On the moves made this summer I’ve said in September that for me, it was all about winning, and I really like what Berge has done so far this summer. It’s unbelievable the additions that have been made. I mean, our D got bigger with Edmundson and there’s not a forwards group in the league that will look forward to playing us, Anderson just brings a special set of skills, he’s quite the package, Allen we will be able to trust to play so many games for us which will make Pricey even better -that’s just scary- and well, Toffoli? He’s scored everywhere he’s been and he’s won the Stanley Cup. Adding all that, to what we already had? It’s just so exciting! And keeping Petey (Jeff Petry) is huge as well, he brings so much to this team. It seems like we’re in the new every day these days and that’s just awesome, there’s so much excitement! I couldn’t care less if I score less next season, I’d trade a year I scored 30 goals and missed the playoffs for a 10-goal season any time. Besides, you’ve got to do more than score. I mean if you get 30 goals, what are you doing in the other 50 goals? You have to contribute in every way possible. You can also feel the excitement from everyone, the fans, Geoff, Berge! We’ve added so many pieces that there will be a learning curve but we’ll try to hit the ground running since there won’t be time for mistakes in a compressed schedule.
On Philip Danault He is such a smart player he plays in all situations for us and he would definitely be hard to replace. He helped me grow as a player a tremendous amount. Extensions are hard to sign though, these things take time, I’ve just been through it so I know what he’s going through. I don’t want to get into the topic of his negotiations though.
There you have it, I think I’ve covered most essential topics. The conference calls ended up lasting for nearly 90 minutes and it was refreshing to see how positive the overall feel was. Gallagher is clearly impressed with what his GM has done since the start of the off-season and he truly believes that this team can win the Stanley Cup. As for the fact that Bergevin seemed in no hurry to extend Danault, well, I think that might have been a bit of strategy on Bergevin’s part. To me that sounded like a message to him: “Want to hop on the bus before it leaves without you Phil?…. I really do hope he hears the message loud and clear and signs an extension because the bottom line is, this team is better with Danault than without him.