Alex Galchenyuk

Galchenyuk played his final year of minor hockey with the U16 Chicago Young Americans and quickly became a star player, tallying 44 goals and 43 assists, leading coach Bruno Bragagnolo to refer to winning a lottery ticket as "the odds of having another kid like Alex play for you".[1] His performance led to him being drafted number one in the 2010 OHL Priority Selection Draft by the Sarnia Sting.[2]

Galchenyuk was also selected 25th overall in the 2011 KHL Junior Draft by Atlant Moscow Oblast, which caused his father, Alexander Galchenyuk, to express his displeasure in Alex not being drafted in the first round by the KHL's Belarusian team, Dinamo Minsk.

In his first season with the Sting, Galchenyuk recorded 31 goals and 52 assists for 83 total points, which led to him being selected to the OHL 1st All-Rookie team alongside teammate Nail Yakupov. The following year, he missed all but two regular-season games and six playoff games with a knee injury.[3] He was selected third in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens.

On July 23, 2012, Galchenyuk signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Canadiens.[4] During the 2012–13 NHL lockout, he played for Sarnia in the OHL, where he served as captain of the team during his final season for the Sting[5] and where he dominated by recording 27 goals and 34 assists in 33 games.[6]

Galchenyuk made the Canadiens roster for the 2012–13 season opener, a 2–1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 19, 2013.[7] He was the youngest player to play a full season with the Canadiens since 1984.[8] He scored his first NHL goal on January 22, 2013, against Scott Clemmensen of the Florida Panthers, tipping-in a shot from Brandon Prust; rookie teammate Brendan Gallagher also recorded his first NHL point, an assist.[9] Galchenyuk finished the season playing in all 48 games with 9 goals, 18 assists for 27 points and a plus-minus rating of +14, playing primarily on the left wing of the third line.[10][11] He finished in the top ten in all three offensive categories among rookies, and was sixth overall in rookie points scoring, helping propel a resurgent Canadiens team to the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.[12]

During the 2013–14 season, Galchenyuk missed six weeks due to a broken hand.[13] He'd finish the season with 13 goals and 31 points in 65 games.

Galchenyuk scored his first career hat-trick on December 16, 2014, against the Carolina Hurricanes.[14] The 2014–15 season also marked Galchenyuk's first 20-goal campaign, as he tallied that amount in 80 games.

On July 30, 2015, Galchenyuk (as a restricted free agent) signed a two-year, $5.6 million contract extension with the Canadiens.[15] The following season, Galchenyuk tied captain Max Pacioretty with 30 goals to lead the team. Galchenyuk finished second in team scoring (behind Pacioretty) with 56 points.

On July 5, 2017, Galchenyuk signed a three-year, $14.7 million contract extension with the Canadiens.[16] In the following 2017–18 campaign, Galchenyuk produced 51 points in his sixth season with the Canadiens.

On June 15, 2018, Galchenyuk was traded by the Canadiens to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for Max Domi.[17]

In his first and only season as a member of the Coyotes, Galchenyuk played in 72 games, with 19 goals and 22 assists.

Galchenyuk (left foreground) with the Pittsburgh Penguins during a game in February 2020

On June 29, 2019, Galchenyuk was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins along with Pierre-Olivier Joseph in exchange for Phil Kessel, Dane Birks, and a fourth-round pick in 2021.[18] He suffered a lower-body injury early in the 2019–20 season and was placed on injured reserve on October 9, 2019.[19] Galchenyuk returned to make 45 appearances with the Penguins, struggling to match his previous career offensive output in recording 5 goals and 17 points.

On February 10, 2020, Galchenyuk, prospect Calen Addison, and Pittsburgh's first round pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft were traded to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Jason Zucker.[20]

On October 28, 2020, Galchenyuk signed as a free agent to join his fifth NHL club in the Ottawa Senators on a one-year, $1.05 million contract.[21] Galchenyuk began the pandemic delayed 2020–21 season, on the Senators roster as a healthy scratch. Drawing into the lineup, Galchenyuk scored on his debut with the Senators in a 4–3 overtime defeat to the Winnipeg Jets on January 19, 2021.[22] He was scoreless in his following 7 games, featuring in just 8 of the Senators opening 15 games.

On February 13, 2021, Galchenyuk, along with Cédric Paquette, were traded by the Senators to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Ryan Dzingel.[23] On the following day, Galchenyuk was placed on waivers by the Hurricanes and upon clearing was assigned for the first time in his career to the AHL joining affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, on February 15, 2021.[24] That same day, before he could join the Wolves, Galchenyuk was traded by the Hurricanes to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Yegor Korshkov and David Warsofsky.[25]

The Galchenyuk acquisition was initially seen as an insignificant depth move, and after the trade he originally played for the team's AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies.[26] After putting up 8 points in 6 games, Galchenyuk was called up to the Maple Leafs, eventually making his debut on March 19 on a line alongside William Nylander and John Tavares.[27] He would spend the rest of the season in the NHL, impressing fans and team staff to the extent that Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas admitted to reporters that Galchenyuk's surprisingly success led the Maple Leafs to adjust their plans for the season's trade deadline.[28][29] He would finish the season with 12 points in 26 games played with the Maple Leafs, helping the team win their division. In the playoffs, Galchenyuk would record four points in six games, but the Leafs were ultimately defeated in the first round by Galchenyuk's former team, the Montreal Canadiens.

On September 21, 2021, Galchenyuk was signed to a professional tryout contract with the Coyotes, making his return to Arizona after being traded by the franchise in the 2018-19 off-season. On October 5, Galchenyuk signed a one-year contract with the Coyotes.