Coyotes Waive Alex Galchenyuk 12-Days After Signing Him; Forward Reportedly Facing Multiple Charges

The Arizona Coyotes have waived forward Alex Galchenyuk — just under two weeks after signing him — to terminate his contract.

On Thursday, the Coyotes placed the 11-year vet on waivers, which was a head-scratcher for sure. The 'Yotes had just inked Galchenyuk to a one-year, two-way deal worth $775,000 in free agency. That was on July 1.

Considering that isn't a huge deal and that the two-way nature of that contract wouldn't require him clear waivers for him to be sent to the AHL's Tuscon Roadrunners (which obviously wouldn't be happening in July anyway) it was clear something was up.

Hours later, reports started to emerge that the team may have been trying to dump his contract as the forward faces potential legal issues.

The Athletic's Katie Strang tweeted that Scottsdale police had confirmed that the 29-year-old Milwaukee native had been arrested on July 9. While spec

The specifics of the incident that led to Galchenyuk's arrest haven't come out as of yet. However, the list of charges he's facing paint a less-than-ideal picture. According to Strang, the Scottsdale Police department confirmed that Galchenyuk is facing a slew of charges. These include private property hit and run, disorderly conduct, failure to obey, resisting arrest and threatening or intimidating.

This was going to be Galchenyuk's third stint with the Arizona Coyotes. He previously played for them during the 2018-19 and 2021-22 NHL seasons.

Galchenyuk played for the Ontario Hockey League's Sarnia Sting before being drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in 2012. In addition to the Canadiens and Coyotes, Galchenyuk has spent time playing for the Wild, Penguins, Senators, and Maple Leafs. He played 11 games last season for the Colorado Avalanche but spent most of the year with the AHL's Colorado Eagles.

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