Former Canadiens Doing Well In The KHL

On Saturday, Montreal Canadiens prospect Ivan Demidov had a front row seat to watch his SKA St. Petersburg team beat Amur Khabarovsk 7-5. The right winger didn't even set foot on the ice.

Meanwhile, a for Hab put on quite a show. The third overall pick at the 2012 draft Alex Galcheyuk is now plying his trade in the KHL after getting numerous chances to find a fit in the NHL and on Saturday, he registered a hat trick in the defeat.

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It must have been a treat for him as he was playing for SKA last season, registering 42 points in 61 games. He had initially signed a two-year deal with the St. Petersburg outfit, but the parties agreed to mutually terminate the deal at the end of last season. He then penned a one-year deal with Amur. So far this season, he has 18 points in 33 games with this new team.

Galchenyuk looked promised to a bright NHL future when he first started playing for the Canadiens. He put up 27 points in 48 games in a lockout shorten season, a 46-point pace in an 82-game campaign.

Unfortunately, going back and forth over being a center or a winger was far from ideal for the young man and eventually, the Canadiens decided to move on, trading him to the Arizona Coyotes in return for Max Domi in June 2018. Over his six seasons in Montreal, Galchenyuk took part in 418 games and put up 255 points.

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Since then, he has had short stays with six NHL teams, including 2 stops with the now defunct Arizona Coyotes, 45 games in Pittsburgh, 26 games in Toronto, 14 in Minnesota, 11 in Colorado and eight in Ottawa. Overall he has played in the NHL for 11 years, taking part in 654 games and picking up 354 points.

Things took a definitive turn for the worst for the former Hab when he was intercepted by the police in Arizona and he threatened the intercepting officer. It's a shame that Galchenyuk couldn't find a way to make things work long term in the NHL, he had plenty of talent, but sometimes, that's not all it takes.

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