It took longer than expected, but Arizona Coyotes’ defenseman Jakob Chychrun was able to make his season debut on Monday night after rehabbing from both wrist and ankle surgeries in the summer.
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While the 24-year-old remains part of the Coyotes organization for now, it may not be for much longer. It isn’t exactly a secret that he wishes to be a part of a more competitive team, as he has asked to be moved more than once, and the rebuilding ‘Yotes appear to be willing to accommodate his request. It doesn’t come as much of a surprise, but Elliotte Friedman wrote in his most recent 32 Thoughts blog that him playing right now is simply to showcase himself for all the interested teams around the league.
“Jakob Chychrun played 23:04 in his return on Monday, a 4-3 shootout loss to Nashville in a pretty entertaining game,” Friedman wrote. “This is an absolute showcase with the organization and the player both desirous to make this work as well as humanly possible. The most important thing is that he stays healthy. Arizona is still asking for two first-rounders (upcoming picks or recently-drafted prospects), plus something else. Apropos of nothing, the Coyotes impressively have the NHL’s seventh-best power-play.”
That heavy asking price is why the Coyotes have yet to move Chychrun, as teams have been hesitant on him due to his injury history, paired with the fact that it remains somewhat of a mystery of just how good he is. This is a player who, in the 56-game shortened 2020-21 season, scored a league leading 18 goals while also putting up 23 assists. That said, he regressed in a big way in 2021-22, scoring a much more modest seven goals and 21 points in 47 games.
Despite the many uncertainties surrounding Chychrun, what makes him such an attractive asset to teams is the fact that he is on an extremely team friendly deal, one in which carries a cap hit of just $4.6 million and doesn’t expire until the end of the 2024-25 season. Thanks in large part due to that contract, it should only be a matter of time until he is shipped out of the desert.
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