Canadiens' Brendan Gallagher is irreplaceable: Why he'll be missed

The Montreal Canadiens announced Tuesday that feisty winger Brendan Gallagher will sidelined up to six weeks after undergoing surgery to repair two broken fingers. If anyone could shave time off the recovery period, it would be Gallagher.

Here are five reasons why this is like losing a superstar for Montreal:

1. Fuels Montreal's energy. Ask opponents around the NHL and many would say that Gallagher has been the catalyst of the team's strong all-around play. The Canadiens feed off his ability to whirl up ice like a mini-tornado.

2. Irreplaceable. When a goal scorer goes down, the coach says everyone needs to chip in more to replace his points. But Gallagher is a unique player. Only a small number of NHL players offer a similar blend of abilities. Even if general manager Marc Bergevin wanted to make a trade, he is not going to find anyone who could help the Canadiens the same way Gallagher does.

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3. Career season. At 23, Gallagher is taking his game to another level. He's never had more than 47 points in his previous season, but he was on pace for 71 this season. He was on a 34-goal pace when he went down with an injury. He is also tremendous possession driver (56.64% Corsi, per war-on-ice.com).

4. Injuries piling up. Alexei Emelin, Torrey Mitchell and Devante Smith-Pelly are also out. Montreal's depth is being taxed, although Montreal has already passed a major test by continuing to thrive when Carey Price was out for an extended period.

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5. Montreal not as hard to play against. The Canadiens have been very impressive in the first two months of the season, but Gallagher's loss means they have lost a major supply of their prickliness for an extended period. Gallagher is a bulldog, not a show dog.

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