Montreal Canadiens: The Unfortunate End of Alex Galchenyuk

Well, that didn’t happen, and when I say that didn’t happen, I mean it seems like a drug-induced hallucination to ever think Galchenyuk was once capable of scoring 40 goals. While he continued to post solid numbers with 44 and 51-point campaigns over the next two seasons, Galchenyuk’s work ethic and offensive abilities just seemed to stagnate, and Montreal’s coaches were having a hard time dealing with the influence Galchenyuk’s father was having on his son’s development.

After posting a team-worst -31 rating in the 2017-18 season, the Canadiens shipped Galchenyuk to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for another once-failed prospect in Max Domi. While Domi’s time in Montreal ultimately met a similar if not identical fate to Galchenyuk, the Habs got Josh Anderson in return, and he should be a core part of this rebuild moving forward.

Anderson brings consistency each night, something that’s been hard for Montreal to come across on both sides of the puck. Galchenyuk was… solid in his first season in Arizona, posting another 40-point season with 19-22-41 totals over 72 games. However, that would largely be the last we’d see of Galchenyuk as a reliable offensive player in the NHL.

After that one season, Galchenyuk was again traded to Pittsburgh as a central part of a trade that saw Phil Kessel come to Arizona. While it seemed like Galchenyuk would flourish in Pittsburgh’s high-offence system, he soon found himself permanently stuck in head coach Mike Sullivan’s doghouse, eventually being traded once more at the trade deadline to Minnesota, in a mostly lopsided deal for Jason Zucker.