Jakob Chychrun’s admission last month that he’d requested a trade has ensured he remains the hot topic for media trade chatter. With the regular season starting up next week, the 24-year-old Arizona Coyotes defenseman has been linked to several clubs.
A recent report had the St. Louis Blues interested in Chychrun. The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford indicated the Blues would be monitoring the situation. However, Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest tweeted that they haven’t had a serious dialogue with the Coyotes.
In addition to the Blues, TSN’s Darren Dreger last Thursday listed the Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings and Columbus Blue Jackets among the interested parties. He pointed out that some of those teams would have salary-cap hurdles to overcome to land Chychrun, who carries a $4.6-million average annual value through 2024-25.
The Blue Jackets and Oilers are among the cap-strapped clubs. Cap Friendly indicates the Oilers are above the $82.5-million salary cap by $7.5 million while the Jackets are under the cap by $1.46 million.
The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline acknowledged rumors tying the Blues Jackets to Chychrun leading up to the 2022 draft in July. He indicated the club denied any substantive interest other than an informal call to the Coyotes earlier this year about the asking price.
Portzline also noted a rumor claiming Chychrun rejected a trade to Columbus despite lacking no-trade protection. As for the Oilers, Sportsnet’s Mark Spector took to Twitter saying they’re not in any Chychrun trade talks at this time.
The Senators are the only team on Dreger’s list with the cap space to acquire Chychrun. Like every club thus far, it’s believed they’re put off by the Coyotes’ high asking price.
