Coyotes terminate Galchenyuk's contract following arrest

Alex Galchenyuk's third stint in the desert is over before it even started.

The Arizona Coyotes announced Thursday that they are placing the journeyman forward on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract.

Galchenyuk was arrested July 9 on several charges including private property hit and run, disorderly conduct, failure to obey, resisting arrest, and threatening or intimidating, Scottsdale police confirmed to The Athletic's Katie Strang.

No injuries resulted from the hit and run, only property damage, police told Strang. Galchenyuk was booked into city jail Sunday and released Monday on his own recognizance, a jail official said. He was arraigned Monday, per court records accessed by Strang.

Arizona signed Galchenyuk to a one-year, two-way deal as a free agent July 1. The contract carried a $775,000 cap hit in the NHL and $225,000 in the AHL. The club released 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.

Galchenyuk spent the 2018-19 and 2021-22 seasons with the Coyotes. Arizona initially acquired him in the 2018 trade that sent Max Domi to the Montreal Canadiens. He joined the organization again as a free agent in 2021.

The 29-year-old failed to record a point in 11 contests with the Colorado Avalanche last season. He spent the rest of the campaign with the AHL's Colorado Eagles, registering 42 points in as many games.

Galchenyuk showed plenty of promise during his early years with the Canadiens after the club drafted him third overall in 2012. His best season came in 2015-16 as a 21-year-old when he accrued 30 goals and 26 assists. He hasn't reached 25 points in a campaign since he collected 41 with the Coyotes in 2018-19.

He's also had brief, unsuccessful stints with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Minnesota Wild, Ottawa Senators, and Toronto Maple Leafs over the last four years.