Arizona Coyotes place Alex Galchenyuk on waivers for purpose of contract termination
The Arizona Coyotes have placed Alex Galchenyuk on unconditional waivers for purpose of a contract termination. This move is a shocking development as the ink has barely dried on the contract he signed with the team less than two weeks ago.
For what would have been his third stint with the Coyotes in a tumultuous career so far he signed a one-year $775,000 contract with the team on July 1st. He previously played the 2018-19 season for Arizona after being traded there in exchange for Max Domi. He had a decently successful season, with 19 goals and 41 points in 72 games, leading the low-scoring Coyotes in goals.
According to Greg Wyshynski of ESPN, the Coyotes became aware of an “off-ice situation” that was previously unknown about Galchenyuk.
Regarding Alex Galchenyuk, who is going to have his contract terminated by the @ArizonaCoyotes just 12 days after they signed him.
An NHL source tells ESPN that the Coyotes had discovered an "off-ice situation" impacting Galchenyuk that was previously unknown to the team.
There is no use speculating what this off-ice situation could be but it was obviously serious enough to void a contract signed very recently. In his second stint for the Coyotes during the 2021-22 season, Galchenyuk scored six goals and 21 points, by this point in his career he was playing bottom-six minutes in just about every team he played for.
Galchenyuk began the 2022-23 season playing for the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League. He ended up scoring 16 goals and 42 points in 42 games, showcasing that he still has a lot of skill to offer. However, it didn’t go so well when he played 11 games for the Avalanche, scoring zero points and putting up a -8 rating.
Once Galchenyuk presumably clears waivers, he will be yet again an unrestricted free agent free to sign anywhere in the league. However, he may not sign for a while due to the nature of his off-ice situation, teams might not want to gamble on that. If he does sign with an NHL team this year, there is a good chance he will be joining the eighth team of his 12-year career.