Another trade mistake by Bergevin?
NHL
On Saturday, June 16th, the Montreal Canadiens announced on Twitter that they had traded one of their players. The Canadiens traded Alex Galchenyuk for Max Domi, a center from the Arizona Coyotes.
The Canadiens have acquired forward Max Domi from the Arizona Coyotes tonight, in return for Alex Galchenyuk. #GoHabsGo
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) June 16, 2018
This one-for-one deal was made with the expectation that Domi would sign an extension with the Canadiens, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. On Saturday, that is exactly what happened. Domi, a restricted free agent, agreed to terms on a two-year contract. The average annual value of the said contract is $3.15 million.
So far, both players have not reached the expectations that were set for them. Maybe a trade could turn things around. However, the fact that the Canadiens traded Galchenyuk could be more positive than negative for either or both teams.
Max Domi
Domi was the 12th overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft. In his 222 career NHL games, all with Arizona thus far, Domi has scored 36 goals and 99 assists. His career high was in the 2015-16 season, with 18 goals and 52 points. He scored nine goals and had 36 assists this season with the Coyotes.
Alex Galchenyuk
Galchenyuk scored 19 goals and had 32 assists with the Canadiens this season. He was the third overall draft pick in 2012. His career high was also in the 2015-16 season with 30 goals. He scored a close 24 this season with the Canadiens.
Fans reactions when Canadiens traded Galchenyuk
Most Canadiens fans took to Twitter to express their hate towards the trade. For the most part, a lot of fans took their anger out towards the general manager of the Montreal team, Marc Bergevin.
tell me how you manage to trade subban, sergachev and galchenyuk in 3 CONSECUTIVE years and manage to keep your job. bergevin’s made this team the laughing stock of the league, time to smarten up and get better management.
— justin (@justinshoif46) June 16, 2018
Predictions for both teams
Finding out that the Canadiens traded Galchenyuk for Domi might bring some anxieties about the future of both teams, specifically the Canadiens. The past year for Domi was rough, scoring only nine goals. However, looking at his entire career, it shows that Domi has potential. The Winnipeg native is only 23 years old and has shown that he is capable of having great seasons. It might just be that he needs a change of scenery, with a team that will push him to be the player he has the potential to be.
There have been trade rumors surrounded Galchenyuk for years, especially due to the fact that Bergevin continuously insisted on playing Alex on the wing rather than at center, center being Galchenyuk’s preferred position. The inconsistent switching has made it difficult to gauge exactly where his talent lies. In a way, cutting ties with Galchenyuk was a benefit for both Galchenyuk himself and the team, because he wasn’t able to contribute to the team to his fullest potential.
Domi is young and has the potential to turn things around, and go back to having more 18+goals a season, instead of the nine he has had these past two years. Galchenyuk deserves a better GM who will allow him to play in the position that he is most comfortable in and can add to the team. Additionally, Alex needs the opportunity to show his strengths and weaknesses, something that’s hard to do when you’re constantly changing positions on the ice.
The fact that the Canadiens traded Galchenyuk for Domi will result in fans continuing to express their anger towards Bergevin, but overall the trade is something that has the potential of extremely benefitting both Domi and Galchenyuk. It is all a matter of how well they adjust to the scenery and new teams.
