Report: Jakob Chychrun talk expected to pick up; will the Leafs be among several suitors?

It's been mostly quiet on the Chychrun front when he wasn't moved at the deadline, but according The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta, the Chychrun chatter is going to begin to pick up in the coming weeks as we approach, not only the draft, but also free agency.

Chychrun has 3 seasons remaining on his current deal, carrying a $4.6M cap hit, but one factor that could potentially throw a wrench into a few teams' plans is the fact that his deal is heavily backloaded. While Chychrun is slated to earn just $4M in actual salary this season, that number will climb to $5.4M in 2023-24 and even more to $7M in 2024-25. It's also worth noting that Chychrun has a modified NTC that kicks in for the 2023-24 season and runs through the final year of his deal, which would allow him to block a trade to 10 teams of his choosing.

Chychrun, 24, will be a UFA when his current deal expires, but since that's still 3 seasons away, it won't impact the potential return for the Coyotes, which will be astronomical, no doubt. The Canadian/US dual citizen scored 18 goals and 41 points in 56 games just two seasons ago. He had a bit of a down year in 2021-22, notching just 7 goals and 21 points in an injury-laden season that saw him play just 47 games.

The Leafs were rumoured to have kicked tires on Chychrun ahead of the trade deadline this past season, so we know there is pre-existing interest there. The problem for the Leafs will be the fact that, not only are they loaded up on the left side on defense, but they are also don't have a lot of cap space to work with. That doesn't necessarily mean that the Leafs won't have a renewed interest in Chychrun this summer, it just means that they're probably not going to be among the favourites to land the Boca Raton, Florida native.