Alex Galchenyuk violently threatened officers, used racial slur during arrest
The Arizona Coyotes parted ways with Galchenyuk, only 12 days after signing him, following the forward's arrest.
The Arizona Coyotes placed forward Alex Galchenyuk on unconditional waivers for purposes of terminating his contract on Thursday, just 12 days after signing him to his new contract.
Scottsdale Police have reportedly confirmed to The Athletic's Katie Strang that Galchenyuk was arrested on July 9 on a number of charges including private property hit and run, disorderly conduct, failure to obey, resisting arrest, and threatening or Intimidating. Police told Strang that nobody was injured in the hit and run incident, and that Galchenyuk was arraigned and released on Monday.
According to a police report obtained by 12News on Friday, Galchenyuk allegedly made violent threats towards officers responding to a hit-and-run incident the player was involved in.
"I will end your bloodline," Galchenyuk allegedly told police."One phone call and you're dead."
The NHL veteran allegedly threatened to "chop" and disembowel an officer and members of his family. An African-American officer also accused Galchenyuk of uttering a racial slur.
Galchenyuk allegedly displayed signs of impairment, and his father — who was also present at the scene — told officers he had never seen his son act this way before, according to the police report.
A pre-trial conference has been set for Aug. 11, according to Strang.
The Coyotes issued the following statement on Friday:
"We are aware of the incident involving Alex Galchenyuk and strongly condemn this type of behavior. Once the club was made aware of the allegations, we immediately began the process of terminating his Standard Player's Contract through the proper channels in conjunction with the National Hockey League.
"As a result, the Arizona Coyotes today have exercised the team's right to terminate the contract of Alex Galchenyuk due to a material breach of the terms of his Standard Player's Contract. The Club will have no further comment at this time."
NHL Network correspondent Craig Morgan reported the NHLPA is reviewing the matter.
Spoke with an agent today about Alex Galchenyuk (who doesn't represent him). Given the details @KatieJStrang laid out, will be interesting to see how the NHLPA approaches this contract termination regarding precedent. Don't think we're done with this story.
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) July 13, 2023
Galchenyuk played 11 games for the Colorado Avalanche during the 2022-23 season, failing to record a point. He spent the majority of the year with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, posting 16 goals and 42 points in 42 games, adding three assists in seven postseason contests.
He was traded to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Ryan Johansen on June 24, but the Predators had no interest in using Galchenyuk, as that trade effectively amounted to a salary dump. Galchenyuk was a pending free agent and the Predators didn’t make an offer to re-sign him, allowing the Coyotes to ink him for his third stint with the organization.
Galchenyuk is best known as the third-overall pick from the 2012 NHL Draft, where he was selected by the Montreal Canadiens. He played six seasons with the organization after breaking into the league as an 18-year-old.
The 29-year-old has appeared in 654 NHL games over his career, registering 146 goals and 208 assists. He has suited up for seven different franchises over his 11 years in the league.
