Former Coyotes Forward Alex Galchenyuk Pleads Guilty to Threatening Charge
August 21, 2023
Five charges against NHL forward Alex Galchenyuk were dismissed in court Monday, but he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor threatening charge, per Katie Strang and The Athletic staff.
He was arrested in July and charged with private property hit and run, disorderly conduct, failure to obey, resisting arrest, and threatening or intimidating. Strang noted he allegedly threatened to kill a police officer and the officer's family at the time of the arrest.
The police report also said he used a racist slur toward a police officer.
Strang cited sentencing documents that revealed Galchenyuk was sentenced to 30 days of jail time but may have to serve just two days. That is because one of the days spent in detention counts toward the sentence, while 27 days will be suspended when he completes an alcohol recovery program and goes 12 months without consuming or possessing alcohol.
"I am beyond embarrassed and disappointed with myself and I feel awful for everyone I have let down," Galchenyuk, who checked himself into the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program, said in a statement at the time.
"My family was counting on me to be better, the Coyotes and the amazing Coyotes fans deserve better and the brave police officers who risk their lives to keep us safe deserve better. I let them all down with my despicable and disrespectful behavior after drinking alcohol."
He also released a statement on social media apologizing for his actions:
In July, the Arizona Coyotes waived him with the purpose of terminating his deal. They had signed him to a one-year deal fewer than two weeks prior to the decision.
The Coyotes also issued a statement:
"We are aware of the incident involving Alex Galchenyuk and strongly condemn this type of behavior. Once the Club was made aware of the allegations, we immediately began the process of terminating his Standard Player's Contract through the proper channels in conjunction with the National Hockey League. As a result, the Arizona Coyotes today have exercised the team's right to terminate the contract of Alex Galchenyuk due to a material breach of the terms of his Standard Player's Contract. The Club will have no further comment at this time."
Galchenyuk has been in the NHL since the 2012-13 season and has played for the Montreal Canadiens, Coyotes, Pittsburgh Penguins, Minnesota Wild, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs and Colorado Avalanche.
He was a member of the Avalanche last season and is currently a free agent after Arizona waived him.