Alex Galchenyuk returned to Arizona Coyotes last season, but he wasn’t able to replicate the success he had his first time in the desert.
The Arizona Coyotes did not have a lot of talent going into the 2021-22 season. They had shipped out most of their better players, and there were questions on who would score goals. But before the start of the season, a familiar face returned, with Alex Galchenyuk signing on with the Coyotes.
Games Played: 60
Goals: 6
Assists: 15
TOI/Games Played: 13:09
PP TOI: 49:29
PK TOI: 00:21
Galchenyuk has had an up and down career since his season with the Coyotes. He split the next season between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Minnesota Wild. The season after was spent between the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs, where he had a bit of a bounceback with four goals and eight assists in 26 games.
Unfortunately, Galchenyuk’s season with the Coyotes didn’t continue the bounceback. He had a few solid moments, but he couldn’t replicate the 19 goals he had with the Coyotes during the 2018-19 season.
The Milwaukee, WI native did have a few hot stretches and did find himself playing up with the Coyotes’ top line for a few games. But unfortunately, that didn’t last long, and Galchenyuk found himself mostly in a bottom-six role.
Galchenyuk couldn’t even get consistent power play time with the Desert Dogs. As a comparison, Galchenyuk played 49 minutes and 29 seconds on the power play in 60 games, while Christian Fischer played 53 minutes and 54 seconds on the power play in 53 games.
Grade: C-
Future:
Galchenyuk couldn’t regain his offensive form with the Coyotes this season, and it is hard to see him re-signing with the team. He didn’t really fit into Head Coach André Tourigny’s system, and looking back, it is hard to say what role he played. Ideally, he would be providing secondary offense, but with only six goals and 15 assists, he couldn’t do that.
Galchenyuk reportedly turned down more money from the Toronto Maple Leafs to return to the Coyotes, and it is a shame that it didn’t work out this past year. However, he is only 28-years-old, and still has time to find a place with a team, even if it isn’t the Coyotes. Maybe a deeper team that could provide more support, or maybe Galchenyuk works hard in the offseason to turn around his game.
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