Former Canadiens Top Pick Once Again Placed On Waivers

Former Montreal Canadiens forward Alex Galchenyuk has had a tumultuous NHL career, to say the least.

The 3rd overall pick at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft was placed on waivers Thursday by the Arizona Coyotes, who intend on terminating his contract.

It’s not uncommon for NHL teams to place players on unconditional waivers, but in this case, it’s rather strange seeing the Coyotes had recently signed Galchenyuk to a one-year contract, marking the third time he was part of the organization.

But it was not meant to be as fewer than two weeks later the Coyotes decided to part ways with the well-travelled centre.

The Arizona Coyotes have placed forward Alex Galchenyuk on unconditional waivers for purposes of terminating his contract. The Club will have no further comment at this time.

— Arizona Coyotes PR (@AZCoyotesPR) July 13, 2023

According to Craig Morgan, the local scribe who is the expert on all things Coyotes, the NHL’s Player Association is reviewing the situation, which is standard practice whenever something strange like this occurs.

I am told that NHLPA "is reviewing this matter." https://t.co/6Yu9EtrFES

— Craig Morgan (@CraigSMorgan) July 13, 2023

After being Drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in 2012, Galchenyuk enjoyed several solid seasons with the team, including a 30-goal, 26-assist campaign in 2015-16, but knee injuries took their toll on the Milwaukee native, who was traded to the Arizona Coyotes by the Habs in exchange for Max Domi in 2018.

That was just the start of Galchenyuk’s North American tour, which also had stops in Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Ottawa, Carolina, Toronto, Arizona again, Colorado, Nashville, and finally, another visit to Arizona. Galchenyuk has scored 146 goals and 208 assists in 654 career games.

Without jumping into rumours, it’s safe to say that something relatively significant must have happened between the Coyotes and the Galchenyuk camp in recent days, especially when you consider the team was very familiar with the player they had signed just 13 days ago.

Canadiens fans who have started following the team recently won’t necessarily be familiar with Galchenyuk’s impact in the mid-2010s, but rather, the play which he set up that eventually helped the Canadiens eliminate the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2021 playoffs.