Alex Galchenyuk on his PTO opportunity with the Coyotes: ‘I couldn't pass because in my heart I always felt I’d be here’

When the Coyotes traded Alex Galchenyuk and P.O. Joseph to the Pittsburgh Penguins in June 2019 for Phil Kessel, defenseman Dane Birks, and a fourth-round pick, Galchenyuk opted to keep his Arizona house.

The decision wasn’t really investment driven, although Galchenyuk said the house has doubled in value over the past three years. The decision was made because Galchenyuk felt at home in the Valley.

“I never sold it, never rented it out, nothing,” he said of his house. “I just left it sitting there. We came back for the quarantine and we like to spend a lot of time here. I love it here so much. For me, it’s honestly like my No. 1 place.”

So much so that Galchenyuk spent the entire summer in Arizona, marking the first time he hasn’t taken a summer vacation. That decision was investment driven. Galchenyuk was investing in his future.

Despite a half season in Toronto in which he remade his game, Galchenyuk became a free agent this past summer. He is only 27, but the detritus of six previous teams left him with few options. Galchenyuk knew he was at a crossroads. The third overall pick in 2012, and one-time 30-goal scorer was flirting with a premature end to a once-promising NHL career.

So he trained hard at the Ice Den Scottsdale with his father, Alex Sr., a Belarusian former professional player who has guided his son’s entire hockey path. For the first time in his career, Galchenyuk hired a nutritionist and a strength trainer (also in Arizona) and it showed when he took off his shirt to slip on a Coyotes jersey for a media-day photo shoot, revealing a ripped torso.

Even before the Coyotes started their informal skates at the Ice Den, Galchenyuk was skating with the handful of guys who were around, and he stayed with them as training camp approached and the group grew.

“I felt like part of the team already, even before this camp,” he said, laughing.

With the season approaching, Pat Brisson (Galchenyuk’s agent) reached out to the Coyotes and coach André Tourigny asked if he could have dinner with Galchenyuk in Phoenix. When that chat went well, Galchenyuk had lunch with Tourigny and GM Bill Armstrong at Yard House and the negotiations that led to a professional tryout (PTO) began.

Although the offer was rumored to be low, Galchenyuk thought about returning to Toronto, and Brisson said “Toronto was very interested in getting him back,” but Brisson also sensed a desire in Galchenyuk for a second chance in Arizona.

“He feels comfortable with the opportunity,” Brisson said. “He’s in a good place and ready to go.”

It’s no secret that the Coyotes are in full rebuild mode. Galchenyuk saw opportunity in that plan.

“It felt right in the heart and that’s the most important thing,” he said. “But especially with the direction the team is going, this is definitely something I really want to be a part of and come in and contribute.

“I had my heart set on here. Even though it took time and I kept my options open from the start, including Toronto, when this opportunity came open, I wasn’t going to pass on it.”

Tourigny did not know Galchenyuk before their first meal together, but when he watched film of Galchenyuk’s games in Toronto, he saw a different player than the one who had been dogged by defensive deficiencies and inconsistency for most of his career.

“I see a lot of battles,” Tourigny said. “I see better positioning in his battles. I see a guy who really worked hard on both sides of the puck. I think that is something you get often with players when they get more mature and they understand that part of the game. Alex has always been a hard working guy but now he works hard all the time with and without the puck and I think that makes him a better weapon.”

Tourigny has a glaring need for centers on his depth chart, but he will start Galchenyuk on the wing and see how things progress. Galchenyuk is no longer concerned with where he plays; a decision that had defined a major part of his narrative.

“I became more responsible in Toronto, just overall more complete,” he said. “I just wanted to grow in the game, and not just as a player on the ice. I think a lot of my growth came off the ice, and that led to growth on the ice, and that really helped me turn a corner. I think when I got to Toronto — and I’m really grateful for my time there and learned a ton — I think my career started turning in a positive direction.”

Galchenyuk feels at home in the Coyotes dressing room, where he knows many of the players and has multiple Russians with whom he can speak his second language, including Ilya Lyubshkin, Dmitrij Jaškin, Vladislav Provolnev, Vladislav Kolyachonok and Ivan Prosvetov.

“Most of them speak pretty good English; don’t let them fool you,” Galchenyuk quipped. “But at the same time, if they ever need help, I’m happy to translate.”

There are no guarantees with a PTO, but just as he did this summer, Galchenyuk isn’t looking outside of Arizona.

“Not being on the team hasn’t crossed my mind,” he said on Thursday, the first day of camp. “I’m just focused on training camp and pushing myself as hard as I can every single day. It was a great day today, it was intense, and the compete level was great. That’s what gets you ready for the season.”

Follow Craig Morgan on Twitter