Former Coyotes player threatened to kill Scottsdale officer's family, report says: 'Your bloodline is dead'

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - The Arizona Coyotes are cutting ties with forward Alex Galchenyuk after he reportedly hit a curb while impaired and threatened to kill a police officer's family after his arrest.

The Coyotes signed Galchenyuk to a one-year, $775,000 contract on July 1 - less than two weeks ago.

Scottsdale Police say Galchenyuk was arrested on July 9 "related to charges of Private Property Hit and Run, Disorderly Conduct Failure to Obey, Resisting Arrest, Threatening or Intimidating."

According to a police report, the former player struck a sign and a curb while driving a BMW, then switched positions with a man sitting in the passenger seat. The car then drove away before getting pulled over shortly after.

Police say Galchenyuk was "heavily impaired" and appeared to be agitated, making "curt and profane" statements to officers.

"You understand I will chop all of you f***s," the former player reportedly said.

Police alleged that Galchenyuk resisted arrest and continued to threaten them while in the patrol car, making the following statements:

• "I'm gonna chop you, your wife, your daughter."
• "Let me go or I will make one phone call. You'll never see your family, how scary is that?"
• "One phone call and you're all dead, your whole family, your bloodline is dead."

Additionally, he reportedly threatened to have an officer's wife and daughter's kidneys cut out and called another officer racial slurs.

"I explained to him the distressing nature of his threats," the officer wrote in the report. "He replied that he was still ‘making the phone call’ [sic] he then laughed and said he was ‘joking.’" 

Galchenyuk was booked into the Scottsdale city jail on misdemeanor charges and released the next day on his own recognizance.

The 29-year-old had 19 goals and 22 assists with the Coyotes in 2018-19 and returned in 2021-22, finishing with six goals and 15 assists in 60 games. Galchenyuk played 11 games for the Colorado Avalanche last season, spending most of the year in the AHL.

Arizona Coyotes release statement

The Coyotes issued the following statement Friday:

We are aware of the incident involving Alex Galchenyuk and strongly condemn this type of behavior. 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. As a result, the Arizona Coyotes today have exercised the team’s right to terminate the contract of Alex Galchenyuk due to a material breach of the terms of his Standard Player’s Contract. The Club will have no further comment at this time.

The Associated Press (AP) contributed to this report.