It's beyond me to see comments from hockey fans in practically all threads of most major media outlets claiming that Alex Galchenyuk is not developing as rapidly as he should be. It's even stranger to me how many are saying that he would make for excellent trade bait, for instance in exchange for the disgruntled Tampa Bay Lightning forward Jonathan Drouin.
Galchenyuk turns 22 next month, and he was arguably the Montreal Canadiens' best player during an absolutely awful stretch in December and early January, where the team won only 4 of the past 17 games. In terms of points, he has 9 in the past 18. That's very respectable for a young forward who's still trying to find his identity, especially given the lacklustre performances by his teammates over that same period of time.
He's RDS' Vincent Damphousse's whipping boy, and the Habs legend claims that Galchenyuk often looks lost on the ice and gives away the puck far more frequently than he should. While Galchenyuk might have a tendency to hold onto the puck for extended periods, I don't see that as being a lack of progression. In fact, if Habs faithfuls will recall, a certain P.K. Subban once hogged the puck and often coughed it up afterwards. If my memory serves me correctly, he was about 21 years of age when the media began to question his effectiveness...
I'm not sure what the fans' expectations are when it comes to how many goals or points he should be putting up just yet. One day, he will begin to regularly post 60+ points a season and I truly believe it will be while donning a Habs jersey. He's on pace for slightly better numbers than last season's, and will surely hit the 20-goal mark for a consecutive time.
I ask you, then, what the real issue is with Galchenyuk? While light hasn't been shed on the controversy reported this morning, it's hard to argue that his head is not in the game. He's always working hard and yes, he can improve on his defensive play, but that's simply a matter of experience. You'll recall that I'm a proponent of #27 playing center all year long, and that his two-way shortcomings and their potential to cost the team a few goals are well worth the wait for a young adult's coming of age.
Galchenyuk is here to stay. You can bet on it. You can also bet that Marc Bergevin is not willing to trade away his third overall pick.