With injuries adding up, the Colorado Avalanche sign Alex Galchenyuk to a one-year deal, worth a value of $750,000. The Avalanche General Manager Chris MacFarland recently saw the need to add some depth to his lineup. Despite never reaching the heights that were expected of him, Galchenyuk has often proven to be a suitable NHL depth forward. After all, he did score 30 goals as a 21-year-old once upon a time.
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Colorado Avalanche Sign Alex Galchenyuk
Galchenyuk has played in 643 NHL games throughout a ten-year career thus far. Last season playing with the Arizona Coyotes, he had six goals, and 15 assists, for 21 points in 60 games played. Furthermore, that year he had a CF% Rel of 0.2 and amassed a career value of 6.7 in that category. The previous year, 2020-21, he split time with the Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs, accumulating five goals, and eight assists, totalling 13 points in just 34 appearances.
Originally, Glachenyuk was a highly touted third-overall pick, in the 2012 NHL entry draft. As a result, he was always burdened with having ultra-high expectations placed upon him. He has put together a respectable career to this point, but most standards. However, when you were drafted to be a superstar in La Belle Province, it really was boom or bust for Galchenyuk.
What This Means for the Avalanche
Glachenyuk is a unique player, as he has managed 146 career goals throughout his career. He can be a hole filler anywhere in the lineup, as he can play the centre or wing. MacFarland identified some holes throughout his lineup. The latest is when centre Evan Rodriguez went down with an injury. He is expected to miss around three weeks.
Colorado is already without top forward, Gabriel Landeskog, who is currently recovering from knee surgery. This is a different forward group than the one that won the Stanley Cup, including having lost another centre, Nazem Kadri, in the off-season to the Calgary Flames via free agency. This will allow Galchenyuk to prove his worthiness on a contender calibre team as a role player. This would pay off in spades when he goes looking for more NHL contracts come the summer of 2023-24.
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