Alex Galchenyuk breaks his silence, releases a statement and makes an announcement
All the best to him in recovery.
HockeyFeed
Last week the Arizona Coyotes abruptly terminated the contract of forward Alex Galchenyuk, just a week and a half after signing him as a free agent.
At the time it wasn't clear why Galchenyuk had been dumped by the team with the Coyotes only saying that they would not comment on the matter. Then, Katie Strang of The Athletic reported that Galchenyuk had been arrested the previous weekend on a number of charges including private property hit and run, disorderly conduct, failure to obey, resisting arrest, and threatening or Intimidating an officer
Now, less than a week later Galchenyuk has released a statement of his own and has announced that he is undergoing treatment for alcoholism in the NHL's Player Substance Abuse Program.
Honestly... good for you.
While Galchenyuk's actions were reprehensible, nobody got hurt or died as a result of his actions. Property damage is just that. Things can be fixed and Galchenyuk can make up for his poor decisions.
I'm skeptical, however, that he'll be given another shot in the NHL though.
Galchenyuk was re-acquired by the Coyotes on the opening day of free agency after failing to come to terms with the Nashville Predators, who received him in their salary cap dump trade featuring Ryan Johansen. Technically he's now on the open market as a free agent yet again, but you have to wonder if this is the end for the former 3rd overall pick.
It's not exactly a secret though that Galchenyuk has bounced around the league over the course of his career. In fact, the 29 year old has played for seven NHL teams in his career, and has failed to remain on any team's roster for more than a season in the past five years. This guy bounces around more than a ping pong ball...
You have to imagine that his NHL chances are now all used up. The former 3rd overall pick is now likely destined for an early retirement or pro hockey across the pond in Europe. Which is too bad really, because we all love a good redemption story.
