Brendan Gallagher, along with Jonathan Huberdeau of the Florida Panthers and Brendan Saad of the Chicago Blackhawks are the 2012-13 finalists for the Calder Memorial Trophy, the NHL announced Monday.
Monday also marks Gallagher’s 21st birthday and one I am sure he will never forget.
He had 15 goals and 13 assists in 44 regular-season games and was selected 147th overall at the 2010 NHL Draft. Gallagher has already made an impact in this year’s playoffs, picking up two goals in the first three games of Montreal’s first-round series against the Ottawa Senators.
Gallagher is the first Hab since Michael Ryder during the 2003-04 season to be nominated for the award. It should also be noted that no Montreal Canadien has ever won the Calder Trophy since Ken Dryden in 1971-72, and I say Gallagher has a pretty good chance of doing so. We’ll see what happens in June. Until then, all we can do is speculate.
