GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Alex Galchenyuk said he was not looking for a change of scenery, but he is looking forward to a change of position.
Galchenyuk was traded to the Arizona Coyotes by the Montreal Canadiens for forward Max Domi on Friday. Galchenyuk will have the opportunity to play center for Arizona, his preferred position, rather than wing, where he played most of last season with Montreal.
"That's what I want and I'm excited about it. I'm preparing already for it and I can't wait to get started," Galchenyuk said Saturday on vacation in Italy. "You're more involved in the game, and I feel you touch the puck, you have the puck on your stick way more than a winger. I feel really comfortable when I have the puck on my stick. I really believe in my offensive abilities when I have the puck. I feel like when you're playing center you have more ice."
Arizona general manager John Chayka made it clear that coach Rick Tocchet would determine the lineup but acknowledged the lure of adding Galchenyuk at center, where the Coyotes have Derek Stepan, Christian Dvorak, Dylan Strome, Marcus Kruger and Nick Cousins.
"I don't think we'd make this trade if we didn't think he had the ability to play center," Chayka said. "He's got all the attributes to play the position. He's big (6-foot-1, 207 pounds), strong, skates well, makes good plays. Offensively, he's clearly better playing out of the middle of the ice. It's just the details of playing center and commitment to playing it 82 games. For a lot of young centers, it's an issue, and we feel he's in that group, but we're betting on a change of scenery, getting him to Arizona with Rick Tocchet."
Galchenyuk scored 30 goals and had 56 points in 2015-16 primarily playing center. The Canadiens felt there were deficiencies in his game, particularly on defense, so the 24-year-old was moved to wing, where he had 19 goals and 51 points this season.
"Center is one of the hardest positions to play, and a lot of guys don't want to do the work or don't understand the work or it's just too hard for him." Montreal general manager Marc Bergevin said Saturday. "It's not a knock. It's just a reality of our business. I don't think it was a failure. I could name a bunch of players who were drafted as centermen and they don't become centers or it takes a lot longer to become a centerman. For periods of time he has done well, but overall we saw him as a better winger."
Galchenyuk, the No. 3 pick in the 2012 NHL Draft by Montreal, said he approached coach Claude Julien late last season about returning to center, but nothing came of it.
"I've always said that it's his decision," Galchenyuk said. "My job is to go out there and do my best no matter where I'm at, at center or at wing.
"I had a meeting and we spoke about it. It's so funny. These questions never go away. Hopefully after six years (with Montreal), I'll stop answering these questions. Me and Claude, we had some discussions and we had a pretty good relationship. I have nothing against him. I said what I wanted to do.
"As a player, I know what I can do and I know what I bring to the table. Obviously, there has been a lot of talk of the relationship between me and the coaches and the organization, me playing wing or me playing center. I really don't want to get into that."
Tocchet said it is too soon to say where Galchenyuk will play for Arizona. He was minus-3 in his first five NHL seasons before he was minus-31 this season, and has won 45.3 percent of the face-offs he has taken in his 418 NHL games.
"I'm a big fan of skill guys that bring a power game with them," Tocchet said. "He can take pucks out of the corner and get to the net. Guys can set him up for one-timers. In my system, playing down low, he has to win battles, and I think he can.
"Like any player when you try to explain your system, it's about reps and trying to understand why we do it this way. Everybody has to play a part. We don't expect him to be a Selke [Trophy] winner (as the best defensive forward), but you have to be good in certain areas in the [defensive] zone."
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