Brendan Gallagher can certainly relate to what Canadiens teammate Kirby Dach is going through now.
The Canadiens announced Monday that Dach has “a significant” lower-body injury that’s not short-term and that they were still in the process of diagnosing just how significant it is.
Sportsnet’s Eric Engels reported it could be torn ACL and MCL ligaments in Dach’s right knee. Dach was injured while being checked into the boards by Chicago defenceman Jarred Tinordi — the Canadiens’ first-round pick (22nd overall) at the 2010 NHL Draft — during the first period of Saturday’s 3-2 win over the Blackhawks at the Bell Centre. If Dach did indeed tear both ligaments, his season could be over after only two games.
The AHL’s Laval Rocket also announced Monday that forward Emil Heineman, one of the Canadiens’ top prospects, is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury.
Gallagher missed 104 games over the previous four seasons because of injuries. Last season, he missed 45 games after breaking his ankle twice as the Canadiens set an NHL record with 751 man-games lost to injury. Now they lose the 22-year-old Dach — one of the key players in their rebuilding process.
After being acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks, Dach set career highs last season in goals, assists and points with 14-24-38 totals in 58 games before suffering a season-ending knee injury.
“He was in here,” Gallagher said. “Like anyone, he was disappointed. But he’s here, he’s part of the team and he’s doing his thing. He’ll be here every day.”
Gallagher added that it will be important for Dach to stay around the team as much as possible.
“You start to feel isolated,” Gallagher said about recovering from a long-term injury. “The good thing is we have a lot of home games. He’ll be around. It’s just a tough thing to go through when you feel like you’re by yourself. Just stay involved as much as you can and we’ll make sure that we’ll help him with that.”
At age 31, Gallagher is trying to get his career back on track after a long list of injuries. He was on pace for a third straight 30-goal season in 2019-20 with 15 goals in 40 games before suffering a concussion, ending his streak of 229 consecutive games played.
Gallagher had no points in the first two games this season and his 10:10 of ice time against the Blackhawks Saturday was the second-lowest on the team after Dach, who played 4:40 before getting hurt.
Gallagher said he’s still adjusting to a different role on the team after being a first-line winger for several seasons with Phillip Danault and Tomas Tatar as linemates. Gallagher said he has had “really good dialogue” with head coach Martin St. Louis about where he fits on the team.
“The more internal competition you have the better team you’re going to have in the end,” Gallagher said. “You always want to find a line that sticks, but you also want to be a guy that they can plug and put in different situations.”
If Gallagher can’t regain some of his previous form and score at least 20 goals, his contract will weigh heavily on the salary cap and is something Canadiens fans will continually focus on. Gallagher has scored 29 goals combined over the previous three seasons while dealing with injuries.
“I’ve really never been one to play with a chip on my shoulder,” Gallagher said when asked if he feels like he has something to prove this season. “It’s not who I am. I feel internally I’ve always had a lot of belief in myself and the support system I have back home. I’m engaged, so with (fiancée) Emma and my family back home there’s enough people that supported you and believed in you along the way. I just feel confident that if I’m able to stay healthy — I feel great — throughout the course of the season everything will go back to what I’m used to doing in this league.
Part of Gallagher’s focus now will be on helping Dach.
“It’s frustrating,” he said about Dach’s injury. “I’ve been through that enough in my career that it’s never easy. So you try to help him out, just make him feel a part of the team as much as you can.”
MONTREAL – Canadian National Railway Co. told employees this week it plans to relocate its operations in Jasper to near Hinton, Alta., about 100 kilometres away.
In a memo sent to employees in the fire-ravaged town, the company said it’s aiming to increase efficiency by minimizing train stops between Edmonton and Blue River, B.C., which sits across the Rockies.
CN plans to close its Jasper bunkhouse and build a crew change facility east of Hinton, with workers slated to clock in at the new site starting in September 2025, according to the document obtained by The Canadian Press.
“CN has made the decision to implement operational changes to improve network fluidity,” regional vice-president Nicole James said in the memo.
The union representing rail workers criticized the relocation, which affects about 200 employees, though no layoffs are expected.
“This is another devastating blow to the town of Jasper, after this year’s catastrophic wildfires. Rail is one of the largest industries in Jasper, after tourism, and CN’s move will cripple this community even further,” said Paul Boucher, president of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference.
“And for the workers who’ve already lost so much — some even their homes — this is a truly cruel blow.”
Union spokesman Christopher Monette noted that most residents or their spouses must work in town to qualify to live there under Jasper National Park’s residency rules. The company has told the union it will apply for an exception for the workers, he said.
CN spokeswoman Ashley Michnowski says the railway is committed to supporting employees through the transition and keeping them updated.
“These types of changes take time to fully plan out and implement. That’s why one of our initial steps was to have this discussion with our employees as well as advising the town of Jasper,” she said in an email.
A wildfire ripped through Jasper in July, destroying a third of the mountain town and displacing many of its 4,800 residents.
The blaze also caused smoke damage to the CN bunkhouse, which the company says it has worked to restore since it was allowed to re-enter the community with contractors on Aug. 16.
Engineers and conductors have been reporting for work in Hinton, roughly an hour away, since the wildfire.
With roots as a fur trade outpost, Jasper launched as a railway town in the early 20th century after tracks built by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway — CN’s predecessor — paved the way for the municipality.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:CNR)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.
The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.
Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.
He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.
Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.
Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.
Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.
The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.
Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.
Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.
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The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Veterans Tyson Beukeboom and Karen Paquin will lead Canada at the WXV 1 women’s rugby tournament starting later this month in the Vancouver area.
WXV 1 includes the top three teams from the Women’s Six Nations (England, France and Ireland) and the top three teams from the Pacific Four Series (Canada, New Zealand, and the United States).
Third-ranked Canada faces No. 4 France, No. 7 Ireland and No. 1 England in the elite division of the three-tiered WXV tournament that runs Sept. 29 to Oct. 12 in Vancouver and Langley, B.C. No. 2 New Zealand and the eighth-ranked U.S. make up the six-team WVX 1 field.
“Our preparation time was short but efficient. This will be a strong team,” Canada coach Kevin Rouet said in a statement. “All the players have worked very hard for the last couple of weeks to prepare for WXV and we are excited for these next three matches and for the chance to play on home soil here in Vancouver against the best rugby teams in the world.
“France, Ireland and England will each challenge us in different ways but it’s another opportunity to test ourselves and another step in our journey to the Rugby World Cup next year.”
Beukeboom serves as captain in the injury absence of Sophie de Goede. The 33-year-old from Uxbridge, Ont., earned her Canadian-record 68th international cap in Canada’s first-ever victory over New Zealand in May at the Pacific Four Series.
Twenty three of the 30 Canadian players selected for WXV 1 were part of that Pacific Four Series squad.
Rouet’s roster includes the uncapped Asia Hogan-Rochester, Caroline Crossley and Rori Wood.
Hogan-Rochester and Crossley were part of the Canadian team that won rugby sevens silver at the Paris Olympics, along with WXV teammates Fancy Bermudez, Olivia Apps, Alysha Corrigan and Taylor Perry. Wood is a veteran of five seasons at UBC.
The 37-year-old Paquin, who has 38 caps for Canada including the 2014 Rugby World Cup, returns to the team for the first time since the 2021 World Cup.
Canada opens the tournament Sept. 29 against France at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver before facing Ireland on Oct. 5 at Willoughby Stadium at Langley Events Centre, and England on Oct. 12 at B.C. Place.
The second-tier WXV 2 and third-tier WXV 3 are slated to run Sept. 27 to Oct. 12, in South Africa and Dubai, respectively.
WXV 2 features Australia, Italy, Japan, Scotland, South Africa and Wales while WXV 3 is made up of Fiji, Hong Kong, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Samoa and Spain.
The tournament has 2025 World Cup qualification implications, although Canada, New Zealand and France, like host England, had already qualified by reaching the semifinals of the last tournament.
Ireland, South Africa, the U.S., Japan, Fiji and Brazil have also booked their ticket, with the final six berths going to the highest-finishing WXV teams who have not yet qualified through regional tournaments.
Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team WXV 1 Squad
Forwards
Alexandria Ellis, Ottawa, Stade Français Paris (France); Brittany Kassil, Guelph, Ont., Guelph Goats; Caroline Crossley, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers; Courtney Holtkamp, Rimbey, Alta., Red Deer Titans Rugby; DaLeaka Menin, Vulcan, Alta., Exeter Chiefs (England); Emily Tuttosi, Souris, Man., Exeter Chiefs (England); Fabiola Forteza, Quebec City, Stade Bordelais (France); Gabrielle Senft, Regina, Saracens (England); Gillian Boag, Calgary, Gloucester-Hartpury (England); Julia Omokhuale, Calgary, Leicester Tigers (England); Karen Paquin, Quebec City, Club de rugby de Quebec; Laetitia Royer, Loretteville, Que., ASM Romagnat (France); McKinley Hunt, King City, Ont., Saracens (England); Pamphinette Buisa, Gatineau, Que., Ottawa Irish; Rori Wood, Sooke, B.C., College Rifles RFC; Sara Cline, Edmonton, Leprechaun Tigers; Tyson Beukeboom, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England);
Backs
Alexandra Tessier, Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, Que., Exeter Chiefs (England); Alysha Corrigan, Charlottetown, P.E.I., CRFC; Asia Hogan-Rochester, Toronto, Toronto Nomads; Claire Gallagher, Caledon, Ont., Leicester Tigers (England); Fancy Bermudez, Edmonton, Saracens (England); Julia Schell, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England); Justine Pelletier, Rivière-du-Loup, Que, Stade Bordelais (France); Mahalia Robinson, Fulford, Que., Town of Mount Royal RFC; Olivia Apps, Lindsay, Ont., Lindsay RFC; Paige Farries, Red Deer, Alta., Saracens (England); Sara Kaljuvee, Ajax, Ont., Westshore RFC; Shoshanah Seumanutafa, White Rock, B.C., Counties Manukau (New Zealand); Taylor Perry, Oakville, Ont., Exeter Chiefs (England).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
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