Alex Galchenyuk: Coyotes terminate contract after arrest

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona –

Alex Galchenyuk repeatedly used racial slurs against a police officer-in-training and threatened to have two officers killed during a traffic stop last weekend, police said in a report, actions that led the Arizona Coyotes to terminate the player’s contract on Friday.

A report from the Scottsdale Police Department said that Galchenyuk was erratic and aggressive towards officers after apparently driving a car into a sign.

Galchenyuk cited Moscow connections as saying, “I’m going to chop you, your wife, your daughter” and “One phone call and you’re all dead, your whole family, your bloodline is dead,” police said in the report.

Galchenyuk, who was born in the US to Belarusian parents and spent much of his childhood in Russia, uttered racial slurs several times while referring to the trainee officer, the report said.

The Coyotes terminated Galchenyuk’s contract for a material breach of terms one day after he unconditionally waived.

“We are aware of the incident involving Alex Galchenyuk and strongly condemn this type of behavior,” the Coyotes said in a statement. “Once the club was made aware of the allegations, we immediately began terminating the contract of its default player through appropriate channels in coordination with the National Hockey League.”

Galchenyuk was arrested Sunday on charges of burglary of private property, disorderly conduct, disobedience, resisting arrest and threatening or intimidating, police said.

It was not immediately known whether Galchenyuk had a lawyer.

According to the police report, a witness told police that a white BMW hit a curb and sign. A training officer and a trainee arrived and saw Galchenyuk lying on the ground about 20 feet from the car. They saw another man put him in the passenger seat before he drove off.

The officers stopped the car and saw that both men were severely disabled. Galchenyuk became agitated and began to make erratic movements, and the officer asked him to get out of the car. Galchenyuk struggled with the officer before being handcuffed with the help of the trainee officer, the report said.

Galchenyuk made the threats and repeatedly uttered racial slurs as he was driven to Scottsdale jail, police said. He was booked on felony charges and released on his own admission the next day.

A witness told police that Galchenyuk was the driver when the car crashed, got out and lay down on the ground. Galchenyuk later told officers he was joking about the threats, the report said.

The Coyotes signed Galchenyuk to a one-year, $775,000 contract on July 1, the opening of free agency, for his third stint with the team. He played 11 games for the Colorado Avalanche last season and spent most of the year in the AHL.