When the Toronto Maple Leafs waived Alex Galchenyuk, and no team claimed him, his career seemed finished. He had just spent 19 days lurking in free agency before the Ottawa Senators threw him a million-dollar offer, yet he wasn’t even playing major professional hockey. In his eight games with Ottawa before his Hockey Day in Canada (February 13) trade, he scored one goal, his only point, and was a minus-six. Though the Senators weren’t great themselves, and he wasn’t even playing ten minutes a night, his career was still insecure at best. Once the Carolina Hurricanes acquired him, they immediately flipped him to the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he’d resurge his career.
Back in 2012, the Montréal Canadiens selected Ganchenyuk with the third overall pick. As a rookie, he showed promise with 27 points in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season. After a sophomore slump, he became a consistent 50 point player with untapped potential while the Habs reached the Conference Finals in 2014. In his magical 2015-16 season, he enjoyed his only 30 goal season to date. In 2018, after the Habs endured one of their darkest years, they sent him in a controversial deal to the Arizona Coyotes for Max Domi. After a 41 point year in the desert, they used him as a centerpeice in the Phil Kessel deal, shipping him to the Pittsburgh Penguins. In Pittsburgh, Head Coach Mike Sullivan rarely deployed Galchenyuk, and he amassed just 11 points in his short, 45-game tenure in the Steel City. They packaged him to the Minnesota Wild with a first-rounder to add Jason Zucker to their mix, and Galchenyuk scored seven points in his 14 regular season games.
In the Hockey State, Galcehnyuk was held scoreless in the play-in round against the Vancouver Canucks, his last games before free agency. In the NHL summer, Shane Doan revealed Galchenyuk was training so hard, he puked. The Senators signed him, but he couldn’t produce. When the Hurricanes took him, he only lasted two days without a game before Toronto wisely picked him up but waived him before calling him back up. In Toronto, Alex has poured out all of his heart for the Maple Leafs.
In his Maple Leafs debut against the Calgary Flames, Galchenyuk showed new commitment to an all-around game. In the second period, with the Leafs down a goal, Galchenyuk retrieves the puck with a stick check and takes a shot. Though the Leafs lost 4-3, they redeemed themselves with a 2-0 win, and Galchenyuk made a breakout pass to John Tavares, leading to Zach Hyman’s goal to make Toronto’s lead 2-0, the final score. From there, Alex would see consistently see 13 minutes of ice time each night on the third line, including 15 against Winnipeg on the last day of March. With his new chance, Galchenyuk has been pouring it all on the ice and his coach, Sheldon Keefe, sure notices it. After Galchenyuk helped spark Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner’s fantastic four-point nights on the top line against Ottawa, Keefe said, “Galchenyuk has been playing very well… We want to see what this will look like.” Now, the Leafs are looking to win their first Stanley Cup championship since 1967, and Alex Galchenyuk is helping by pouring out his heart.
