To some he is a real pest, but to Montreal Canadiens great Guy Lafleur, Brendan Gallagher is a leader.

Lafleur handed out the Guy Lafleur Awards of Excellence to university and junior ranked student-athletes in Quebec on Wednesday where he gave his pitch for Gallagher as the team's next captain.

"I like the way he plays," Lafleur told reporters. "He shows up every night and gives 100 percent. I think he's a great influence on his teammates.

"A captain shouldn't be chosen on the amount of goals he's going to score."

The Hall of Famer has stood loyal to his former team and loves what he has seen from the pesky 23-year-old.

"That guy (Gallagher) really impressed me every night I saw him play," Lafleur said. "He's aggressive, he wants to win. He gets some bad shots from opponents, he takes a lot of hits and there's not too many guys on the team that work like he does."

The Canadiens played without a captain for the 2014-15 season, instead naming Andrei Markov, P.K. Subban, Max Pacioretty, and Tomas Plekanec assistants after former captain Brian Gionta signed with the Buffalo Sabres.