Gallagher still dealing with injuries, but 'comfortable' ahead of next season

Montreal Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher acknowledged Tuesday that, for the first time in his career, the drag of a long season wore on him during the 2021-22 campaign.

Speaking on TSN Radio 690 Montreal, Gallagher reflected on his and the Canadiens struggles as a whole in the 2021-22 season.   

"We played a ton of hockey and I just wasn't able to get my body to where it needed to be," Gallagher said. "As the year went on it just felt like everything was piling on and that’s the tough thing about sports."

The 30-year-old finished with seven goals and 24 points in 56 games this season after being limited to 35 games in 2020-21. Signed through 2027 at a cap hit of $6.5 million, Gallagher added he remains confident in his ability to hold up moving forward in his career.

"I understand everyone asking those questions and I understand where they’re coming from but at the same time... there’s stuff that I’m dealing with here but I’m comfortable going into next year," Gallagher said.

The Canadiens made multiple changes as the team struggled to a last place-finish this season, including firing general manager Marc Bergevin on Nov. 28 and replacing him with Kent Hughes later in the year.

Gallagher said Tuesday he appreciated the accomplishments made in Bergevin's 10 years with the club, but also recognized the need to move forward in a different direction.

"First and foremost it kind of speaks to the tenure that Bergevin had – not a lot of people are capable of spending a decade in Montreal as general manager," Gallagher said. "He came in and his mission was to change the culture and to change the thinking of how the organization ran, and for years it worked - we were always a very good team, always found a way to get back to