Saturday, June 16, 2018

Galchenyuk for Domi




2018 Season July 1st, 2018
To Arizona POS Age GP Goals Points Years Cap Hit
Alex Galchenyuk F 24 82 19 51 2 $4.9 mil
-----
To Montreal POS Age GP Goals Points Years Cap Hit
Max Domi F 23 82 9 45 0 RFA

Let the silly season, begin!

The Montreal Canadiens and Arizona Coyotes got it started off with a bit of a bang, as Alex Galchenyuk swapped spots with Max Domi, as two players that had their names dropped quite a bit in roster moves in recent months, both get shuffled off to fresh starts in different conferences.

Galchenyuk's time in Montreal was never all that bad, but it failed to live up to the hype of the 3rd overall pick in the 2012 draft, never quite finding his scoring touch at the elite level for the Canadiens.  Moves between the wing and centre were the talk of the town far too often and the team was always unable to find a complimentary player to play with him.  19 goals in 2018 wasn't bad, but it was an underachieving season, which left the Habs out of the playoff picture.

Domi, a 1st round pick back in 2013, never really faced the same scrutiny as his trade counterpart, but he was often in the forefront, as his style of game is certainly gritty, with much more upside to it than what his father showed a way back when.  In Montreal, he will certainly provide a little bit more edge to the lineup, once he's signed to a brand new deal.  The real trick for the Canadiens, will be to get Domi signed to a reasonable deal, which allows them to remain flexible and hope that the 23-year old can spark his play and become a real bargain.

The move to acquire Galchenyuk is a really big gain for the Arizona Coyotes, if he can somehow find that speed and skill game with his new club.  The Coyotes are already boasting some great young talent in Clayton Keller and Jakob Chychrun, but they have been quietly putting some hardly-aged veterans on this side too, which will certainly start making some noise here soon.  Sooner or later, this team is bound to explode.

To me, the Canadiens getting grittier doesn't exactly make them all that much better.  Domi has shown flashes of some offensive quality, but he has been far from consistent.  The hopes could be that he finds some chemistry with guys like Jonathan Drouin and/or Brendan Gallagher, both undersized, but somewhat dangerous at the same time.  There's still something missing in the Canadiens lineup, but all it could be is just belief in themselves.

No comments: