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In Hainsight: Former Hab in a Bad Way |
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Follow me @KarineHains for all updates about the Montreal Canadiens and women's hockey
Back in 2012, the Canadiens selected center Alex Glachenyuk 3rd overall in the first round of the NHL draft. After the lock-out, he pierced the line-up alongside fellow rookie Brendan Gallagher and they both seemed destined to have great careers. Unfortunately, while Gallagher’s career took an upward trajectory, Galchenyuk’s has been full of ups and downs.
In Montreal, he bounced from wing to center and back to wing during his six seasons with the Sainte-Flanelle. Across those six campaigns with Montreal, he broke the 50-point mark twice including during the 2017-2018 season which would be his last with the Canadiens. During the following offseason, then general manager Marc Bergevin sent him to the Coyotes in return for Max Domi who would then have a career year in Montreal before an underwhelming season saw him fall out of favors and be traded to Columbus for Josh Anderson.
While Galchenyuk had the best years of his career in Montreal, he often made the headlines for the wrong reason. There were rumors of heavy partying and substance abuse, his girlfriend was apprehended on domestic abuse charges and his entourage was said to be an hinderance to his development.
Once he left Montreal, Galchenyuk bounced around the league, spending a single season with the Coyotes before being traded to Pittsburgh, then to the Wild and the Senators before making a quick stop in Toronto and returning to Arizona for a second stay. He spent most of last season with the Avalanche’s AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles and played 11 games with the Avs in the NHL during which he was held off the scoresheet.
As a free agent this offseason, Galchenyuk signed a one-year two-way deal with the Coyotes on July 1st but yesterday, the Arizona outfit announced that they were putting Galchenyuk on waivers for contract termination. The move was surprising after having signed him less than two weeks ago, but the team refused to comment on the matter. Later in the day, Katie Strang from the Athletic reported that the Scotsdale Police Department had confirmed that Galchenyuk was arrested on July 9 on several charges including private property hit and run, disorderly conduct, failure to obey, resisting arrest and threatening or intimidating.
Clearly, the 29-year-old forward is not doing well and needs help to sort out his life, hopefully, he’ll find it and be able to put it back on track. When you reach that point, the career takes a back seat, but from a hockey standpoint, it remains a shame to see such a talented young man spiral out of control and screw himself out of an NHL career.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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