“I’m seeing him for the first time and he’s not limping. He walks normally. I was happy to see him like that, I hugged him.

The man giving the hugs is called Chris Wideman. And whoever has limped in the past isn’t too hard to identify. He wears number 11 and has an “A” on his vest: Brendan Gallagher.

When invited to a media meeting on the first day of camp, Gallagher smiled even brighter than usual. Unlike last year, he feels in good physical shape.

“When I left, I spent a lot of time in the gym, but I wasn’t lifting weights,” he said. There were several parts of my body that weren’t moving as they should. I spent a month doing different things to find ways to move like before. I slowly rebuilt my body and started gaining weights, running and exercising again.

“I was happy to get back to a normal routine,” he continued. I invested time for myself. If I’m here in the NHL, it’s because of my job. Also, I need to shape my body for an 82-game season. I’ve always had confidence, but it makes you feel better when you know you’ve put enough time into training.”

No goal

The 30-year-old winger, who was limited to seven goals and 24 points in 52 games last season, stayed far from big promises. When asked if he could become a 30-goal scorer again, he evaded the trap.

“I’ve never set myself goals like this before. I want to be reliable and consistent. I want to be a guy where every game I contribute I want to help the team. I’ve always been proud of that. If you can count your bad games on your fingers, good things will follow.”