Alex Galchenyuk was placed on unconditional waivers for contract termination Thursday (July 13) just 12 days after signing with the Arizona Coyotes. It was later revealed that the 29-year-old was arrested for a slew of charges.
Galchenyuk was set to begin his third stint with the Coyotes when he signed a one-year, two-way $775,000 contract with the team on July 1. He had previously played for the Coyotes during the 2018-19 season when he was traded from the Montreal Canadiens and the 2021-22 season when he signed a one-year contract in free agency with the team.
The Coyotes released a statement on Twitter shortly after Galchenyuk was put on waivers saying “The Arizona Coyotes have placed forward Alex Galchenyuk on unconditional waivers for purposes of terminating his contract. The Club will have no further comments at this time.”
A couple of hours after the statement was released, it was revealed by Katie Strang (writer for The Athletic) that Galchenyuk was arrested on July 9 by Scottsdale, AZ police. He had multiple charges filed against him including private property hit and run, disorderly conduct, failure to obey, resisting arrest, and threatening or intimidating. Galchenyuk was released a day after.
This isn’t Galchenyuk’s first off-ice issue. He was involved in a domestic violence dispute in 2016 and allegedly was in the NHL’s drug and alcohol abuse program in 2017.
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Galchenyuk has a permanent residence in Paradise Valley, AZ that he’s had ever since his first stint with Arizona.
Galchenyuk’s Career
Galchenyuk was drafted third overall by the Canadiens in 2012. He made the NHL squad right out of training camp becoming the youngest player to play a full season with Montreal since 1984. He spent six seasons with the Canadiens even putting up a 30-goal, 56-point season in 2015-16.
Galchenyuk eventually got traded to Arizona for Max Domi in 2018. He had a 41-point season with the Coyotes, the last season that he put up any totals close to that.
Galchenyuk was dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins from the Coyotes in 2019 and played only 45 games for them as he was traded once again, this time to the Minnesota Wild. The Milwaukee-born forward played 18 games for the organization including the NHL playoff bubble games.
Galchenyuk then signed a one-year deal with the Ottawa Senators during the offseason. He only played eight games with Ottawa before being traded to the Carolina Hurricanes. He never played a game with the Hurricanes and got traded days after to the Toronto Maple Leafs. He started in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Toronto Marlies and quickly impressed putting up eight points in six games. He was called up to the Maple Leafs and was placed on the second line where he put up 12 points in 26 games. The career resurgence surprised general manager Kyle Dubas as he admitted Galchenyuk’s performance changed the team’s plan for the season’s trade deadline. He played six of the seven Maple Leafs playoff games, putting up four points before being eliminated by the Canadiens.
Related: Arizona Coyotes 2023 Free Agency Recap – Day 1
Galchenyuk opted to return to Arizona the next season where he signed a professional tryout (PTO) contract with the team as a free agent. He converted the PTO into a one-year deal and put up 21 points in 60 games in a top-nine role.
Galchenyuk once again hit free agency and joined his seventh NHL team in the past six years by signing a PTO with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022. He was injured in a preseason game and was released from his contract. However, he recovered from his injuries and signed a two-way contract with the Avalanche in November. He only played 11 games with the Avs, going scoreless and spending most of his season in the AHL with the Colorado Eagles.
Galchenyuk was traded during the 2023 offseason to the Nashville Predators where he opted not to sign and was left as a free agent. He then signed his soon-voided contract with the Coyotes.
