Chayka: Coyotes envision Galchenyuk lining up at center

Almost one year ago, the Arizona Coyotes pulled off a draft-day blockbuster, acquiring Derek Stepan from the New York Rangers in hopes of rectifying the franchise's longtime weakness at center.

Less than 12 months later, the Desert Dogs struck another major move, landing Alex Galchenyuk from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for fellow young forward Max Domi.

The hope is that Galchenyuk will line up at center, likely as the Coyotes' second-line pivot behind Stepan. While he spent much of last season at wing, general manager John Chayka believes Galchenyuk will benefit from a move back to the middle.

"Our thesis on it is he has the ability (to play center) and we think that he has natural tendencies that lend itself to that," Chayka said in a conference call. "We feel, just based off of our research and what we've looked at, that he has the capacity to do it.

"I think having depth at that position and having players who can play that position is something that we desired in this trade. He's had success playing the center position. I don't think we'd make this trade if we didn't think he had the ability to play center."

While Galchenyuk saw little time up the middle under current Habs coach Claude Julien, he was a frequent middleman under former bench boss Michel Therrien.

Galchenyuk began the 2016-17 season at center, putting up nine goals and 14 assists in 25 games before suffering a knee injury. The 24-year-old was moved to the wing upon his return from the ensuing six-week layoff.

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