Alex Galchenyuk repeatedly used racial slurs toward 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 Scottsdale Police Department report said Galchenyuk was erratic and aggressive toward officers after apparently crashing a car into a sign.
Galchenyuk cited connections in Moscow while saying “I’m gunna chop you, your wife, your daughter” and “One phone call and you’re all dead, your whole family, your blood line is dead,” police said in the report.
Galchenyuk, who was born in the U.S. to Belarusian parents and spent much of his childhood in Russia, uttered a racial slur several times while referring to the officer in training, the report said.
The Coyotes terminated Galchenyuk’s contract due to a material breach of terms a day after placing him on unconditional waivers.
“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 the process of terminating his standard player’s contract through the proper channels in conjunction with the National Hockey League.”
Galchenyuk was arrested Sunday on charges of private property hit-and-run, disorderly conduct, failure to obey, resisting arrest and threatening or intimidating, police said.
It was not immediately known whether Galchenyuk had an attorney.
According to the police report, a witness told police that a white BMW had hit a curb and sign. A training officer and a trainee arrived and saw Galchenyuk on the ground about 20 feet from the car. They watched another man put him in the passenger seat before driving off.
The officer pulled the car over and noticed both men were heavily impaired. Galchenyuk became agitated and began making erratic movements, and the officer asked him to step out of the car. Galchenyuk struggled with the officer before being handcuffed with the help of the officer in training, the report said.
Galchenyuk made the threats and repeatedly uttered the racial slur as he was driven to the Scottsdale jail, police said. He was booked on misdemeanor charges and released the next day on his own recognizance.
A witness told police Galchenyuk was the driver when the car crashed, then got out and lay 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 July 1, the opening of free agency, for his third stint with the team.
Montreal selected Galchenyuk with the third overall pick of the 2012 NHL draft and he played his first six seasons with the Canadiens, starting in 2012. He had 30 goals and 26 assists in 2015-16, but has been more of a journeyman the past few years, playing in Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Ottawa, Toronto and Colorado.
He played 11 games for the Colorado Avalanche last season, spending most of the year in the AHL.