The Montreal Canadiens made the first big move of the 2017 offseason in acquiring forward Jonathan Drouin from the Tampa Bay Lightning for defensive prospect Mikhail Sergachev.
Drouin is currently a restricted free agent, but Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin is already in the process of signing his team's new star forward. Taking on a player deemed a spare part by Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman has given the Canadiens some excess of their own.
Galchenyuk played just 61 games this past season, but he scored 17 goals and finished with 44 points while splitting his time between left wing and center.
Moving him likely means Bergevin and head coach Claude Julien viewed him as a true winger. With Max Pacioretty, Alexander Radulov, and now Drouin slotting in on the wings, Galchenyuk may be moved out in order to address greater team weaknesses at center and on defense.
Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.