Chychrun trade talk heating up after healthy scratch; Leafs among two teams making a major push

This is going to be the first big domino that falls for the defenseman market as Jakob Chychrun was the big fish that everyone wanted from the Boston Bruins to the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings and beyond. It was reported shortly after by Bruce Garrioch that the Maple Leafs and the Oilers were among several teams that stepped up their efforts and offers in acquiring the two-way defenseman.

Chychrun missed a good chunk of the season due to injury but has scored 7 goals and 28 points in only 36 games for a bottom-dwelling Arizona team. He is also a plus-8, averaging 23:16 TOI, and most importantly for teams interested; he has term on his contract. Over the course of 7 seasons, he appeared in 373 games, scored 60 goals and 170 points, and averaged 21:05 TOI.

He is signed through the end of the 2024=25 season at a very respectable and cost-effective $4.6 million AAV. The defenseman has been on the trading block for a couple of years running now with the Coyotes continuing their free-falling rebuild and it seems like the time has come for both sides to move on.

According to Pierre LeBrun the Coyotes' asking price for Chychrun was two first round picks plus a prospect.

It remains to be seen when the trade will occur but it doesn't seem viable for the Coyotes to prolong this situation any further than tonight's game. They play again on Monday against the Nashville Predators so expect something to occur within before then. Nothing imminent at this point, but as we all know, that could be quick to change.