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Galchenyuk apologizes to teammates for ‘distraction’

Montreal Canadiens v Ottawa Senators - Game Four

Montreal Canadiens v Ottawa Senators - Game Four

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In the wake of an incident that saw his girlfriend get arrested following a domestic incident, Montreal forward Alex Galchenyuk met with reporters on Wednesday.

“I apologize for the incident,” Galchenyuk said, per the Canadiens’ Twitter. “The last thing I wanted was it to be a distraction for my teammates.”

“I feel bad for [the] incident because it was made public, and I feel bad for teammates, for the organization and for the fans,” he added, per TSN.

Details of the incident, per La Presse (translated):

Based on information obtained by La Presse, [Galchenyuk’s girlfriend, Chanel] Leszczynski showed up at Galchenyuk’s residence on Sunday, one day after the Canadiens lost, 3-1, to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Galchenyuk, who lives in an apartment on Sherbrooke street West, was at his home with several other people including teammate Devante Smith-Pelly.

For unknown reasons, a dispute occurred. One of Galchenyuk’s guests called 9-1-1 at around 8:00 am.

Montreal police officers arrived on the scene. Based on our information, the police spoke to Galchenyuk, the people in his apartment and others who live in his building. Leszczynski was arrested after being identified as the one who instigated the incident.

Galchenyuk didn’t press charges against Leszczynski and, according to La Presse’s Richard Labbe, isn’t facing any club discipline for the incident (neither is Smith-Pelly).

That said, Habs head coach Michel Therrien had some words for both players following today’s practice.