Alex Galchenyuk sentenced to 30 days in prison

This summer, Alex Galchenyuk was in the news for all the wrong reasons. After signing a contract with the Coyotes, the club terminated it after the forward was arrested by police for causing a disturbance and verbally threatening a police officer.

He subsequently entered the player assistance program to combat his alcohol problems (he was intoxicated at the time of his arrest), and last I heard, he appears to still be there.

On the other hand, Galchenyuk still had to go through the courts because of the numerous charges against him. And today, we learn that he has already learned his sentence: 30 days in jail and 12 months without being able to possess/consume alcohol.

Of the six charges against the striker, five have been retracted. This left only one “misdemeanor” charge, to which Chucky pleaded guilty.

According to those documents, Galchenyuk was sentenced to 30 days of jail time, one of which counts as time served and 27 of which will be suspended upon successful completion of an alcohol recovery program and 12 months without consuming/possessing alcohol.

– Katie Strang (@KatieJStrang) August 21, 2023

According to Katie Strang, Galchenyuk has already served one of the 30 days (which was probably done on the night of his arrest), and it seems to be understood that another 27 days will be subject to “suspension” if he completes a program related to his alcohol consumption.

So would he have only two days left to spend in prison? Perhaps, yes.

Let’s not forget that there are rumours that the forward will spend next season in the KHL. On the other hand, if he has to continue to undergo the program for his alcohol abuse, one wonders when he’ll be ready to resume his playing career.

But we all agree that the most important thing is for the player to get better. When that’s done, and his legal troubles (including those in Canada) are sorted out, we’ll see what the rest of his career has in store.

In short, a rather lenient sentence under the circumstances, but let’s hope it will still give Galchenyuk a wake-up call. He deserves to get better and find support, which he currently seems to be getting in the player assistance program.