Earlier this season we took a look at the way Max Domi was producing for the Montreal Canadiens, so it’s only natural that we take a deeper look at the player he was traded for -- Alex Galchenyuk.
If we’re evaluating the trade right now, it’s clear that the Canadiens were the big winner. After all, Domi is up to 33 points in 34 games, while Galchenyuk has 11 points in 23 games. Thankfully for the ‘Yotes, there’s still time for 24-year-old to get back on track this season and beyond.
Adapting to new surroundings isn’t always easy. It’s even more difficult when it’s the first time a player has been traded. That’s the exact situation Galchenyuk was in this summer. He had spent the previous six seasons in Montreal before being moved to Arizona in mid-June. Also, he’s going from hockey-mad Montreal, where you can never get a moment away from the spotlight, to Arizona, where you can fly under the radar with a little more ease. That’s gotta be a shock in itself.
Missing the first four games of the regular season didn’t help make the transition any easier. Instead of being able to develop chemistry with new teammates, Galchenyuk was forced to sit and wait, which put him behind the eight-ball right away.
Whether it was Michel Therrien or Claude Julien, the Canadiens never really trusted Galchenyuk to play center. His ability to produce offense was never a concern, but his ability to read and react on the defensive side of the puck always was. When the Coyotes were able to land him in the summer, GM John Chayka made it clear that they believed he could play down the middle.
Galchenyuk got a few weeks to prove himself at center, but in the end the ‘Yotes decided that he was better suited for the wing, again. Have they completely closed the door on him at that position? Probably not. But if two organizations and three coaches don’t believe he’s capable of doing the heavy-lifting down the middle, he’s probably never going to be able to do it at a high level. But that’s okay. He can still be an effective winger in the NHL.
So let’s take a look at some of the numbers he’s put up thus far.
When Galchenyuk recovered from his lower-body injury, he managed to put up eight points in his first nine games. That’s solid enough. Unfortunately, his production has tailed off now, as he’s put up three assists in 14 games. During that stretch, he also missed three more contests because of a lower-body ailment.
His on-ice advanced numbers are just as underwhelming as his offensive totals. He has a CF% of 46.14, a FF % of 44.42 and his team controls 43.55 percent of the shots on goal when he’s on the ice. His team scores 37.5 percent of the goals scored when he’s on the ice and his high-danger CF% is at 35.9. All of the numbers mentioned here at career-lows. (Stats via Natural Stat Trick). Those advanced metrics are all below the Coyotes’ averages.
The numbers aren’t great, but it’s still really tough to be doom-and-gloom about Galchenyuk’s potential in the desert. He’s missed two separate stints because of injury, which you simply can’t ignore. He might not be providing Arizona with the immediate results Domi has given Montreal, but that doesn’t mean he won’t get himself on track before the end of the season.
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Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.