When I first saw this trade, I thought to myself “Arizona absolutely won this trade”. However, I had some time to sit back and think about it for a while. After all the thinking was done, I came to a conclusion. I believe I was right the first time, Arizona won this trade.
Max Domi did need a change of scenery, so I wasn’t completely surprised he was dealt. After scoring 18 goals in his rookie season, he has scored 9 in each of the last two seasons. Two seasons ago he scored 9 in 59 games, so injuries were most certainly a reason he didn’t score more, but last season he played in all 82 games. Thats a struggling player if i’ve ever seen one.
Galchenyuk hasn’t been amazing the past few seasons either. He only scored 19 goals last season in all 82 games. Thats more goals than Domi has ever scored in a single season, but Galchenyuk once scored 30 in a season, so it’s clear he hasn’t been able to get back to that kind of success recently. The Canadiens always wanted Galchenyuk to be a centre (maybe even their first line centre), however they never seemed to be happy with him when he played there.
Galchenyuk also never seemed to see eye-to-eye with Canadiens coach Claude Julien. Max Domi seems more like a tough, hard working player that Claude had a lot of in Boston. If there is a coach out there who could possibly find the best situation for Max to thrive in, it could very well be Claude Julien.
The problem I find for the Canadiens is that they need centres and they need goals. In this trade they traded away a young centre/winger that could score, for a young winger who even though he can score, hasn’t been able to score nearly as much goals as Galchenyuk has in recent years. It did free up some cap space though, as Max’s new contract with the Canadiens is around 2 million less per season than Galchenyuk’s is. That 2 million could really help when it comes to free agents or future trades.
For the Coyotes, Galchenyuk will have a fresh start at proving to the coyotes he can be a centre long term. He will join a team of other young stars that include Dylan Strome and even possibly his future winger in Clayton Keller. The Coyotes do seem to be getting a brighter future each and every time I look at their roster. This Trade was a trade where two teams each traded a player that was struggling a bit with their current situation. However, I do believe that the Coyotes got the better player in this trade.
The craziest thing about this whole trade? Tie Domi now has to cheer for the Montreal Canadiens.
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