Montreal Canadiens right-winger Brendan Gallagher was the guest of honour at Sunday night’s Sports Celebrity Dinner, a fundraiser for the Cummings Centre Foundation. Gallagher and his wife, Emma Fortin, a PhD candidate at HEC Montréal, were in attendance along with former Habs coach Michel Therrien, broadcaster Pierre Houde and Expos Hall of Famer Denis Boucher, to name a few. While on stage, Gallagher spoke about his 14 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, including some of the highs and lows. “I was having so much fun. You’re a 20-year-old kid, you’re just living your dream, and I get an assist in the first game. The puck literally hit me in my backside,” he laughed. The 34-year-old also took some time to speak about what it was like to be on the road so soon after losing his mother. “The one that will always stand out for me was after my mom’s funeral, and then flying,” he said. “We played at home against Ottawa, flew after the game, funeral, flew back the next day to New York, and I scored a goal that game. That one was special.” Gallagher confirmed at the end of the last season that he would be moving on from the Canadiens - but insisted there’s “more in the tank, obviously.” “I would love for it to be here, but I guess my time has come,” he told reporters as the team cleaned out their lockers. ”They’ve moved on, and for me, as a player, I’m looking forward to getting back to what I do.” The fundraiser raised $1 million, double the amount from 2025.
