Sad scene in Vancouver all but confirms the end for Brendan Gallagher

Kevin Lefrançois wrote Saturday that Brendan Gallagher's career is ending sadly, and the Canucks winger still has no goals through 18 games.

The timing is rough. Vancouver sits 32nd in the NHL at 3-17-1 and has lost seven straight, with a game tonight in Las Vegas after Friday's 1-5 loss to the Rangers.

Gallagher's numbers match the team's mood. He has 0 goals and 2 assists in 18 games this season, with a -7 rating and 10 penalty minutes.

For a player with 246 goals over 929 NHL games, a drought this long is hard to miss. The 34-year-old was a fifth-round pick, 147th overall, by the Canadiens in 2010, and he built his career on work ethic and a relentless forecheck, not on raw talent.

Lefrançois, who wrote in French, said last season Gallagher was still giving everything he had, but this year the energy simply isn't there. He called it sad to say, yet argued Gallagher has become an AHL-caliber player.

Lefrançois also wrote that retirement awaits the small, fiery winger at the end of the season.

-

It's really a sad end to Brendan Gallagher's career. Last year, he was running on fumes. This year, the engine has completely given out.

It's tough to say, but he's become an AHL-calibre player. Retirement awaits the little warrior at the end of the season.

Gallagher hasn't said anything of the sort, and nothing in his file suggests a decision has been made. His contract does expire after this season, and no extension has been signed.

Fans reacted to the viral Connor Murphy's reaction to Brendan Gallagher a week ago, back when the story was a scrum. Now the conversation is about how much he has left.

Should the Canucks keep leaning on Brendan Gallagher?

Not if the production stays where it is. A team that has won three games in 21 can't afford to hand minutes to a winger with two points, and head coach Manny Malhotra has to weigh that against Gallagher's standing in the room.

The harder part is that a rebuild year doesn't reward a veteran grinding through a season like this. Hiding a struggle on a team allowing 95 goals, the most telling number of the Canucks' season, is close to impossible, and Gallagher's -7 is part of that picture.

Retirement talk is premature until the player himself weighs in. But the evidence at hand makes it a fair question for the offseason, and Gallagher's next goal, whenever it comes, will be noticed far beyond Vancouver.

The Canucks drop the puck in Las Vegas tonight, with Gallagher still searching for his first goal of the season.

This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence, based on public reports and official sources.

Also read on Markerzone.com:
Charlie McAvoy faces possible suspension after fight with Bobby Brink in Wild's rout of Bruins