Montreal Canadiens: Alex Galchenyuk Moving On From Yet Another Team

The Montreal Canadiens hitched their wagon to Alex Galchenyuk in 2012. He will be a free agent this summer.

The Montreal Canadiens miserable 2011-12 season was supposed to have a silver lining in that they were granted the third overall pick at the end of it. The Habs selected Alex Galcehnyuk with that pick and though he looked promising at times, there was yet another reminder last night that his career trajectory has plummeted.

Galchenyuk had a decent rookie season for the Habs, scoring nine goals and 27 points in 48 games during the lockout shortened 2013 season. He set a career high when he scored 30 goals and 56 points in 2015-16. He finally had a lengthy stint as a centre that year and looked to be ready to step into a top six centre role.

He wouldn’t score 30 goals again. In fact, he hasn’t scored 20 again since.

Galchenyuk’s last season in Montreal saw him score 19 goals and 51 points in 82 games in the 2017-18 season. The two years since then have been a whirlwind for the 26 year old forward. He was traded to the Arizona Coyotes in June, 2018 for Max Domi in a trade that was widely disliked by fans of the Habs.

It has proven to be an exceptional deal for the Canadiens. Galchenyuk dipped to 19 goals and 41 points in 71 games during his first, and only, season in the desert. Those were not bad numbers, but they were about to get worse.

Galchenyuk was on the move once again in June 2019. Arizona sent him to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a package that brought Phil Kessel to Arizona. Galchenyuk struggled to mesh with Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin while with the Pens, and scored just five goals and 17 points in 45 games before he was moved again. Pittsburgh shipped him to Minnesota in a deal that sent Jason Zucker to the Penguins.

In 14 games with the Wild, Galchenyuk scored three goals and seven points. Last night, Wild general manager Bill Guerin commented that Galchenyuk is not likely to return to Minnesota and he will become a free agent in October.

When he signs his next contract, Galchenyuk will be joining his 5th NHL team in just over two years.

That is a lot of moving around for a player who had such a promising career just a few years ago. Marc Bergevin was not a popular man when he traded Galchenyuk, but he clearly dealt him at the perfect time as the past two years have not been kind to the Habs third overall pick in 2012.

And we thought Max Domi’s 17 goals and 44 points in 71 games was bad.