Jakob Chychrun sustained a lower-body injury this past weekend and although the Arizona Coyotes initially announced he was expected to miss two to four weeks, it appears now his timeline to return is closer to two weeks.
That’s good news for the teams interested in acquiring the coveted defenceman ahead of the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline.
The 23-year-old has been one of the most talked-about players leading up to March 21. With Ben Chiarot and Josh Manson both traded earlier this week, plus the Dallas Stars reportedly unlikely to move John Klingberg, Chychrun is the premier defenceman thought to be available at the deadline this season.
Chychrun is an established top-four blueliner signed through the 2024-25 season and his annual salary cap hit of $4.6 million is a relative bargain.
Is it ideal to part ways with a young talent like this? No, but given the circumstances the rebuilding Coyotes are in quite the advantageous position. They simply don’t need to rush a deal or settle for any trade in which they’re not getting full (or extra) value since this isn’t merely a rental or pending RFA situation.
“He's a No. 1 (defenceman) that's 23 years old with a team-friendly contract and someone that generated 18 goals the year before, so he has a lot of impact on your team,” Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong said via NHL.com earlier this month. “You'd be crazy to move him unless it moved your team forward.”
Armstrong added he has been taking calls on Chychrun, but not making them.
This is the type of move that doesn’t often materialize ahead of the trade deadline. Could the Coyotes then receive an offer ahead of July’s draft better than the ones they’re currently receiving? Perhaps from a team not in the running at the moment?
Arizona is already affluent in terms of draft picks with three pending first-round selections and five second-round picks in 2022 alone.
Any team would benefit from adding Chychrun, both short-term and long-term, if they are willing to pay the price.
Back in January, Jeff Marek reported one team had made Arizona an offer that was “essentially two former first-round players and a first-round draft pick.”
We know the haul will be hefty whenever he does get moved.
Here are eight teams thought to be making a push for Chychrun ahead of Monday’s deadline.
LOS ANGELES KINGS
GM Rob Blake knows a thing or two about top-end defencemen and the Kings are the unofficial frontrunners in the Chychrun sweepstakes. The Kings have reportedly been interested in the former Sarnia Sting standout for a while and The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa reported Thursday that L.A. is “making a pitch for the 23-year-old.”
The Kings have a leg up on many other teams mulling a blockbuster move since they have a full stock of draft picks plus their prospect pool is considered one of the best in the league.
Centre Gabe Vilardi, the 11th-overall pick from 2017, could be a player included in a trade with the Coyotes after The Fourth Period reported, “the Coyotes have interest in multiple players” in the Kings’ system.
Fifth-overall pick from 2019, Alex Turcotte, is another example of the type of young player Arizona is seeking. Would the Kings be willing to part with 2020 second-overall pick Quinton Byfield less than two years after drafting him?
BOSTON BRUINS
Bruins fans typically roar when one of their players completes a big hit but a portion of Boston supporters – the ones hoping to acquire a player like Chychrun, or Chychrun specifically – probably didn’t cheer as loudly on the hit that led to the blueliner’s current injury.
Boston has a full selection of draft picks to include, plus it would be manageable from a cap perspective even with David Pastrnak eligible to sign an extension beginning this summer. A top pairing of Charlie McAvoy and Chychrun would no doubt be envious to teams in the Eastern Conference. McAvoy and Brandon Carlo are the only Bruins defencemen signed beyond 2023-24.
Standout rookie Jeremy Swayman is apparently off the table for any trade talks.
Is that potentially contributing to The Athletic reporting that, “Word around the two clubs is that whatever the Bruins are currently offering is unlikely to outdo other parties interested in the left-shot defenceman.”
ST. LOUIS BLUES
It’s clear Doug Armstrong hopes to do something substantial prior to the deadline to help his roster make it through the Central Division and Western Conference playoffs.
The Blues have been linked to Claude Giroux, Hampus Lindholm and others, plus they showed interest in Chiarot, so it’s not surprising to see them also connected to Chychrun.
“Recent struggles aside, the Blues have indicated they feel they’re good enough to win,” Elliotte Friedman wrote in his latest 32 Thoughts column. “The Central Division playoffs are going to be nasty, and GM Doug Armstrong’s been mulling a few options. He’s not afraid to be aggressive and has tried to move out money. They’ve intensely examined the rental defence idea (they liked Chiarot) or the more permanent fixture (the now-injured Jakob Chychrun).”
The Blues only have one player with a cap hit exceeding $1 million (David Perron’s $4M AAV) set to come off the books at the end of the season. Even though Chychrun’s $4.6-million cap hit is far from daunting, at least one notable player from the active roster would likely need to be included to make a deal more feasible.
CAROLINA HURRICANES
Would Carolina be willing to part with a young forward like Martin Necas, whose contract expires in a few months, in addition to high picks and other pieces? Carolina doesn’t have a first in 2022 but The Fourth Period reported in January the Coyotes liked Necas.
The Hurricanes roster could theoretically be reshaped quite easily in the off-season if management decides to shake things up dramatically.
Vincent Trocheck, Nino Niederreiter, Derek Stepan, Ian Cole and goaltenders Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta are all pending UFAs, while Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Steven Lorentz, Ethan Bear, Tony DeAngelo and Necas are the team’s pending RFAs.
GM Don Waddell wouldn't be burdened by no-trade or no-movement clauses and has plenty of moveable assets under the age of 28.
ANAHEIM DUCKS or COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
The Ducks and Blue Jackets are the two non-playoff teams reportedly most interested in making an offer for Chychrun. Friedman confirmed late Wednesday when writing about interest in Chychrun that both Anaheim and Columbus “have been around this.”
Since making the playoffs this spring is lower on the priority list for these two teams, does that mean they’d be more willing to trade valuable roster players whereas a playoff contender might hesitate removing an integral piece of the lineup?
In Anaheim, pending UFAs Rickard Rakell and Hampus Lindholm are expected to be dealt by Monday (unless they can come to terms on a reasonable extension for Lindholm). Any assets they get in return for those high-end rentals could be flipped to Arizona. Anaheim also has an extra second-round pick in 2023.
Columbus, meanwhile, has two first-round picks in 2022 (unless the pick they got from Chicago in the Seth Jones trade ends up being a top-two pick) plus all of their own selections in 2023 and 2024. Max Domi, a pending UFA, is believed to be a coveted player on the rental market. Patrik Laine is enjoying a nice bounce-back campaign in Columbus after only scoring 10 goals in 45 games in his first year with the franchise.
FLORIDA PANTHERS
The Panthers were higher on this list prior to them acquiring Chiarot. Florida has been mentioned as a potential Chychrun suitor all year and Jeff Marek recently wrote: “The price is high, and I’d have to think the Florida Panthers have both the interest and the pieces to get a deal done. There are still other teams interested but Panthers seem to be in the lead here.”
The Panthers lack a first- and second-round pick in 2022 after using them to acquire Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett. They also just sent their 2023 first, a 2022 fourth and Tyler Smilanic to Montreal for Ben Chiarot.
With limited draft picks available, would Arizona require a package including rookie forward Anton Lundell and goalie Spencer Knight to be the type of starting point in negotiations? Would Florida even be willing to go there?
If Chychrun doesn’t get moved before the deadline perhaps the Panthers get back in on the action in the summer?
NEW YORK RANGERS
Marek reported in January the Rangers offered a package that included the rights to Vitali Kravtsov. The ninth-overall pick from 2018 is a pending restricted free agent currently playing for the KHL’s Chelyabinsk Traktor. That clearly didn’t land Chychrun and it’s unclear exactly what they’d be willing to sweeten the pot with.
New York has their first-round selections in each of the next three years, plus an extra 2022 second-round selection from the Sammy Blais for Pavel Buchnevich trade last summer.
