Report: Alex Galchenyuk's NHL career may in fact NOT be over

In case you missed the news yesterday, the Colorado Avalanche officially released veteran forward Alex Galchenyuk from his professional tryout (PTO) contract.

The 28 year old forward put up six goals and 21 points in 60 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season and was looking to crack a pretty strong Avs roster. Despite not making the team, the Avs were the 7th team that Galchenyuk suited up for in just the past four seasons. In total he has suited up for the Montreal Canadies, Arizona Coyotes 2x, Pittsburgh Penguins, Minnesota Wild, Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Milwaukee, WI native is, of course, the former 3rd overall pick from the infamous 2012 NHL Entry Draft and it's fair to say that his career has not gone as projected. Things could be worse though... he could have the career path of the man chosen in the top spot, Nail Yakupov.

The thing is... despite reports yesterday that Galchenyuk's NHL career is over, Avs head coach Jared Bednar poured cold water on the rumors. Bednar himself reports that Galchenyuk's PTO was ended only due to injury and that there may be an opportunity for him to rejoin the team back once he's healthy.

Check it out:

Staying healthy unfortunately has been an issue for Galchenyuk throughout his NHL career, so I'm not holding my breath on him in that regard.

Regardless of anything else though, I feel like Galchenyuk was always in tough to lock down a spot with the Avalanche, but I appreciate that he's not giving up on his NHL dream. He has had to endure some unfortunate injuries over the course of his career and he has actually put up some stellar numbers when healthy. He's six years removed from a 30 goal campaign and he could provide the Avs, or another NHL team for that matter, with some depth offensive production. Here's hoping that he can make a quick recovery and can somehow get another sniff at the big leagues. Again, he's shown that he has the talent to play in the NHL but he's had horrendous luck.