Trade Rumors: Chiarot, Oilers, Coyotes, DeBrusk
While the Marc-Andre Fleury-Washington Capitals connection was the highlight of the most recent “32 Thoughts” column from Sportnset’s Elliotte Friedman, the insider had plenty else to say about the burgeoning trade market. Though just a small note, the inclusion most likely to come to fruition is Friedman’s report that several teams are pursuing Montreal Canadiens defenseman Ben Chiarot. Chiarot’s name has been out there among trade candidate all season and it isn’t going away. As the top impending free agent on the NHL’s worst team, Chiarot is a near lock to be dealt. Friedman reports that the Calgary Flames, Florida Panthers, and St. Louis Blues are among the teams confirmed to have interest in Chiarot, but Friedman also keys in on another possibility: the Toronto Maple Leafs. The rumblings out of Toronto suggest that the Leafs are targeting a defenseman at the trade deadline and they may very well need one to escape the ultra-competitive Atlantic Division. Friedman notes that the club kicked the tires on Chiarot when he was a free agent and could be a top contender to land him this time around.
- Another report that is hardly outside the box is Friedman’s suggestion that the Edmonton Oilers have looked into just about every goalie that could potentially be traded this season. Among the list of names are some who have already been linked to Edmonton, such as Columbus’ Joonas Korpisalo and Dallas’ Braden Holtby and Anton Khudobin, but other interesting targets include Philadelphia’s Martin Jones and Washington’s Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek. However, the key piece of Friedman’s report is that the Oilers may end up empty-handed if they aren’t willing to improve their offer. Friedman hears from potential trade partners that Edmonton is not willing to move their first-round pick and increasingly hesitant to move their second-rounder as well. Without a third- or fourth-round selection this year, the Oilers are seemingly only peddling late-round picks, with top prospects likely off the board as well. That won’t get it done in a sellers’ market.
- One goalie who likely won’t wind up in Edmonton is Arizona’s Karel Vejmelka. Though there have been few bright spots in the Coyotes’ dismal season, Vejmelka’s play has given fans in the desert some hope. The 25-year-old rookie, an unheralded import from the top level in Czechia, has performed well this season. By league standards, his .901 save percentage and 3.40 GAA may not seem like much to be excited about, but as a first-year NHLer playing behind one of the worst rosters in the league, the keeper has held his own in 25 appearances. Rather than quickly flip Vejmelka to another team, the ‘Yotes seem insistent on extending the goaltender instead, including him as a core piece in their rebuild.
- Still in Arizona, where rumors circle the struggling squad, Friedman reports that young forward Lawson Crouse is unlikely to be traded despite recent speculation. The hulking power forward is not without his flaws, but with 10 goals and 20 points in 40 games, Crouse is well on his way to a career year. Although the Coyotes have shown their willingness to move on from high-potential players for the right price by placing Jakob Chychrun on the block, Friedman states that they have begun telling suitors that they would prefer to keep Crouse.
- Elsewhere, The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa writes that the market for Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk is in fact as cold as it seems. There was a flurry of speculation when DeBrusk first requested a trade, but it has quieted down significantly since Boston’s play improved in the new year. This isn’t because the Bruins aren’t listening though. Instead, Shinzawa reports that teams seem hesitant to make the commitment to DeBrusk, at least at the Bruins’ asking price. While his play has improved of late, it is still far off his performance earlier in his career and not up to the level that his $4.41MM qualify offer demands. The challenge for the Bruins is to find a team willing to pay the asking price that either is willing to qualify or otherwise negotiate an extension with DeBrusk or conversely a team that sees him as a rental, as recent rumors have suggested the New York Rangers might. Neither the Bruins nor DeBrusk want to extend their relationship, but it may be easier said than done to find the right deal.
Ryan Dzingel, Rudolfs Balcers Enter COVID Protocol
The Arizona Coyotes and San Jose Sharks have both made several updates to their COVID protocol list, as they prepare for action tonight and tomorrow.
For the Coyotes, Ryan Dzingel has joined Antoine Roussel in the protocol and is unavailable for tonight’s game. A player that has seemingly disappeared entirely the last few years, Dzingel has just four goals and six points in 20 games for the Coyotes in 2021-22. A two-time 20+ goal scorer, he has just 12 goals and 19 points since the start of the 2020-21 campaign and now will have to miss at least three games with this latest absence.
Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports reports some good news on the Coyotes’ side though, as Jakob Chychrun is expected to play for the first time since December 10. The young defenseman is the subject of much trade speculation, and getting back into game action will only help the Coyotes’ leverage in any negotiation.
For San Jose, it’s a bit of good news and a bit of bad news. The team has activated Alexander Barabanov from the COVID protocol, but replaced him with Rudofs Balcers, who is now unavailable. San Jose recalled Joachim Blichfeld and Adam Raska from the AHL in the meantime.
Balcers, 24, had scored in each of his last two games and now has four goals and 12 points in 27 games for the Sharks this season. Signed to a two-year deal in the offseason that carries a $1.55MM cap hit, his year has been broken up by injuries and illnesses that have limited his playing time. Now he’ll be forced out of the lineup for at least two games.
Snapshots: Coyotes, Canucks, Kuzmenko, Pillar
The Coyotes are set to get their top defenseman back in the lineup as Jakob Chychrun has cleared COVID protocol, relays Jose M. Romero of the Arizona Republic. Chychrun had been out with an upper-body injury sustained back in December and was close to returning before testing positive. Head coach Andre Tourigny, defensemen Anton Stralman and Kyle Capobianco, and goalie Scott Wedgewood all also cleared protocols and are with Arizona on their road trip. However, they will be without winger Antoine Roussel who entered COVID protocol today and will miss at least the next five days.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- While the attendance restrictions in Vancouver have been extended through the middle of February, the Canucks will not be having any games on their upcoming three-game homestand rescheduled, mentions Postmedia’s Ben Kuzma (Twitter link). Vancouver already has seven games that need to be rescheduled with at least some of those changes expected to be announced very soon.
- Free agent winger Andrei Kuzmenko won’t be deciding on which NHL team he’ll sign with anytime soon. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports in the latest Insider Trading segment that the 25-year-old will wait until the end of his season in Russia before choosing where to sign with. Kuzmenko is on Russia’s training camp list for the upcoming Olympics and as the second-leading scorer in the KHL, it’s quite likely that he’ll make it. Ottawa is among the teams known to be interested although Dreger relays that almost every team has at least reached out to his agent (Gold Star’s Dan Milstein) to inquire about Kuzmenko.
- Wild prospect Josh Pillar was traded from Kamloops to Saskatoon at the WHL trade deadline on Monday. The 2021 fourth-round pick has averaged just over a point per game for the second straight season with 11 goals and 20 assists in 29 games. However, the two picks the Blazers are receiving are conditional as the winger is currently dealing with a private medical situation and the move was made to allow Pillar to recover closer to home.
Coyotes Cancel Practice, Add Six To COVID Protocol
Another coronavirus outbreak is starting in the NHL, this time affecting the Arizona Coyotes. The team canceled practice earlier today after receiving test results and this afternoon announced that Scott Wedgewood, Jakob Chychrun, Cam Dineen, Anton Stralman, head coach Andre Tourigny, and goaltending coach Corey Schwab have all been placed in the COVID protocol.
The Coyotes are scheduled to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday, before a home-and-home series against the Colorado Avalanche on the weekend. The team already had Kyle Capobianco and assistant coach Mario Duhamel in the protocol, placed there a few days ago.
While Chychrun was already out with an injury, losing the other players–especially Wedgewood–is certainly a challenge for the Coyotes. The team has so many injuries and absences even before these players were ruled out, that icing a competitive lineup will be even tougher.
Of course, the Coyotes were having trouble icing a roster like that anyway as they go through a scorched earth rebuild. The team has won just seven times in 33 games and sit last in the entire NHL.
Asking Price Clear On Jakob Chychrun
The Arizona Coyotes were always going to be at the middle of the trade deadline hot stove as they continue their scorched earth rebuild, but it was originally assumed that Jakob Chychrun wouldn’t be included in that teardown. The 23-year-old defenseman is signed to a long-term, reasonable contract and is still obviously young enough to help the club when they’re ready to compete for the playoffs again.
It turned heads when Chychrun’s name hit the rumor mill last month, but the ask was called “massive” by multiple reports. There’s now some clarity on what massive means, as Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek explained on Hockey Night In Canada:
What the Coyotes are looking for is a young player, a high-end prospect plus a first-round pick. Teams we believe that have the assets who could do that and might be interested, include the Los Angeles Kings, perhaps the St. Louis Blues and certainly the Anaheim Ducks–who might be losing Hampus Lindholm to unrestricted free agency at the end of the year.
Marek also indicated that as many as ten teams have already reached out on Chychrun and likened the potential return to the one that the Minnesota Wild received for Brent Burns in 2011. That deal saw Devin Setoguchi (then a 24-year-old coming off his third straight 20+ goal season), Charlie Coyle (the 28th overall pick a year earlier), and a 2011 first-round pick go to Minnesota from the San Jose Sharks.
Chychrun is averaging nearly 25 minutes a night for the last-place Coyotes this season, and though he is obviously not having a good year there is a lot to like about the left-shot defenseman. Selected 16th overall in 2016 he has already racked up 128 points in 316 career games and possesses the kind of size-skating combination that teams fall in love with.
Even with the defense market potentially getting a name like John Klingberg added in the coming months, Chychrun is a prize that almost every team in the league could be interested in, even those out of this year’s playoff race. Signed through the 2024-25 season he carries a cap hit of just $4.6MM and would step into almost any top-four with ease.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
West Notes: Oilers, Chychrun, Kesler
The Oilers have struggled considerably over the last several weeks, having lost 10 of their last 12 games which has led to some speculation as to whether or not head coach Dave Tippett is on the hot seat. In the latest TSN Insider Trading segment (video link), TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that there are no plans for a coaching change in Edmonton unless things get considerably worse. Speculatively, that would mean a continuation of their current struggles to the point where they fall well outside the playoff picture. For the time being, they currently hold the final Wild Card spot in the West.
Dreger adds that the Oilers are looking to add a goaltender in the midst of Mike Smith’s injuries and Mikko Koskinen’s struggles as well as an upgrade at the third line center position. However, they’re in a situation where they need to match money to make a deal happen which will complicate things.
More from the Western Conference:
- Also from Dreger in that segment, the Coyotes are believed to be seeking an ‘Eichel-like’ return if they’re going to move defenseman Jakob Chychrun, an asking price that has scared at least some potential suitors away. The former Buffalo center yielded a first-round pick, a high-end prospect, a top-six winger, and a second-rounder and with the 23-year-old signed for just $4.6MM through 2024-25, he’s someone that many more teams will be able to afford which will allow Arizona to keep the price justifiably high.
- The Golden Knights are considering the possibility of acquiring the rights to Ryan Kesler from the Ducks, notes David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. Kesler, who hasn’t played since 2019, carries a $6.875MM cap hit that is LTIR-eligible. In theory, if Vegas moved out enough salary to bring Kesler in and remain in cap compliance with their current cap situation, he could then be added to their LTIR pool, enabling them to eventually activate Jack Eichel. There’s precedent for teams acquiring injured players to boost their LTIR pool – Toronto (David Clarkson) and Tampa Bay (Brent Seabrook) – are recent examples and with Max Pacioretty and Alec Martinez both expected to return before the end of the regular season, Vegas may need to get creative to make the cap work when their players are healthy.
Arizona Coyotes Listening On Jakob Chychrun
In the offseason, the Arizona Coyotes made it clear that they would be going through a full rebuild. They made several moves to take on bad contracts, sold off key players like Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Conor Garland, and Christian Dvorak. The one player that seemed untouchable through all of that was Jakob Chychrun, a 23-year-old top-pairing defenseman signed to a very reasonable $4.6MM cap hit through 2024-25. Chychrun seemed to be embracing the organization and was set to become the one core piece that Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong would build around.
Not so fast.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet wrote in his latest 32 Thoughts column that the Coyotes are gauging the market on Chychrun, though the ask is “massive.” The insider expanded on that note today on The Jeff Marek Show.
The one thing I asked was ‘has there been a trade request?’ And I was told in multiple places, the answer to that question was no. However, I do think that the Coyotes know that this isn’t easy on Chychrun, this is the prime of his career, and that his value will probably never be higher than it is now.
They are taking calls, they are gauging it. I’ve been told the ask is massive. I’ve also been told although teams admit it’s massive, it’s not making them run away from him.
When Friedman asked Armstrong for a comment, he refused to give one at this point.
Like everyone else in Arizona, Chychrun is not having a good season. After scoring 18 goals and 41 points in 56 games last season, finishing tenth in Norris Trophy voting, he has just two goals and seven points in 26 games this time around. He’s a -29 on the year, easily the worst in the league (Nick Paul is second-worst with a -15) but much of that is due to the fact that Chychrun is playing huge minutes on a terrible team. He’s averaging just under 25 this season, the highest of his career and three more than anyone else on the Coyotes. The players that follow him? Shayne Gostisbehere, who cost the Flyers a draft pick to get rid of, Anton Stralman who cost the Panthers a draft pick to get rid of, and Dysin Mayo, a 25-year-old who is in his first NHL season after years in the minor leagues.
It’s easy to see why Chychrun would generate a huge ask, even in a down year. There was a time during the lead-up to the 2016 draft that he was considered a top-three talent, but a so-so draft year in Sarnia eventually made him fall down the board. Selected 16th overall, he ended up as the fifth defenseman off the board (Olli Juolevi, Mikhail Sergachev, Jake Bean, and Charlie McAvoy went ahead of him). His draft year was immediately forgotten when he stepped directly into the NHL though, playing in 68 games for the Coyotes and scoring 20 points as a rookie. He was physical, mobile, and had offensive upside, the prototypical defenseman for today’s NHL.
In his sixth year now, and Chychrun has been a pillar on the back end for Arizona, suiting up 316 times. He has 48 goals during that stretch, good for 22nd in the league since he entered it, and appeared to take a significant step forward in 2020-21. Given he won’t turn 24 until March and costs just $4.6MM for another three seasons and there’s a good argument to be made that he’s among the most valuable trade chips in the entire league. The Coyotes, who clearly have a plan in mind for the organization since Armstrong took over, aren’t going to just throw away that chip for just any old package.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Jakob Chychrun, Ryan Dzingel Day-To-Day For Coyotes
According to the team, Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun and forward Ryan Dzingel are both day-to-day with upper-body injuries, suffered in Friday’s game against the Florida Panthers.
Both are unavailable tonight as the team plays the second half of a back-to-back at home, this time against Philadelphia.
Chychrun has just seven points through 26 games after back-to-back 10-plus goal seasons. However, he had a long pointless streak to start the year and has been heating up as of late. He’s playing nearly 25 minutes per game, not an easy task for such a flawed Coyotes team.
Dzingel has had injury issues all year, and because of that, he hasn’t found stability in the lineup. Flip-flopping between wing and center, he has just four points through 16 games this season.
Alex Galchenyuk and Cam Dineen likely draw into the lineup in place of Chychrun and Dzingel.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Arizona Coyotes
Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2020-21 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
Arizona Coyotes
Current Cap Hit: $84,270,284 (over the $81.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Barrett Hayton (two years, $894K)
Potential Bonuses
Hayton: $1.75MM
Once considered a team full of young players, the Coyotes have changed their image over the last few years and have only one young player on their team under a cheap entry-level deal with only a handful of entry-level players that are even close to joining the team. Hayton, however, could be ready for a breakout season after spending the season with the team last year. Unfortunately for Hayton, he would have benefitted the most with one year in the AHL, but wasn’t eligible to play there, so instead of returning him to his junior team, the Coyotes kept him around. He only appeared in 20 games (although he did miss time with a shoulder injury at the World Juniors), but showed enough potential that he should be an everyday player next season. A big year from the 2019 fifth-overall pick would be a boost to the team’s center position.
One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level
F Derek Stepan ($6.5MM, UFA)
D Alex Goligoski ($5.48MM, UFA)
F Marian Hossa ($5.28MM, UFA)
D Niklas Hjalmarsson ($5MM, UFA)
G Antti Raanta ($4.25MM, UFA)
D Jason Demers ($3.94MM, UFA)
D Jordan Oesterle ($1.4MM, UFA)
D Ilya Lyubushkin ($1MM, UFA)
F Conor Garland ($775K, RFA)
F John Hayden ($750K, RFA)
F Dryden Hunt ($700K, RFA)
For a team that is looking to cut salary, the team has a lot of money coming off the books next year, suggesting the team could look drastically different in just one year. Some of those players could find themselves to be trade bait when the trade deadline comes around. The most interesting decision the team might have to make is what to do with Stepan, however. The 30-year-old was brought in from New York to stabilize their top line three years ago. He had four straight seasons of 50 or more points while with the Rangers and posted a 56-point season with the Coyotes in 2017-18. However, his production has taken a dive over the past two years as Stepan posted just 35 points (in 72 games) in 2018-19 and then dropped even further last year with just 28 points in 70 games. A team leader, the Coyotes have to hope that Stepan can return to form this season or the team could choose to move on from him.
The team’s defense is loaded with several high-priced veteran blueliners and almost all of their contracts come up next season, including Goligoski, Hjalmarsson and Demers. Goligoski is 35, but is still playing major minutes for Arizona and could be a candidate to return at a slightly lesser deal. Hjalmarsson is 33, but has seen his game break down a bit as he has dealt with numerous injuries the last couple of years, including a fractured fibula that cost him 43 games last year. The 32-year-old Demers also averaged more than 20 minutes of ATOI per game. The team may keep one or two of those players, but likely will not keep all three.
The team will also want to evaluate the play of Raanta, who has showed flashes of dominance, but also has dealt with injuries and inconsistent play at times as well. Raanta did play well last season, posting a .921 save percentage in 33 games and gives the team several options in the net. Raanta could easily be re-signed to new deal or could be a trade candidate as well.
The team will also finally be free of Hossa’s $5.28MM contract the team took on years ago.
Two Years Remaining
F Phil Kessel ($6.8MM, UFA)
G Darcy Kuemper ($4.5MM, UFA)
F Tyler Pitlick ($1.75MM, UFA)
F Lawson Crouse ($1.53MM, RFA)
F Johan Larsson ($1.4MM, UFA)
F Christian Fischer ($1MM, RFA)
The team brought in Kessel to bring in the firepower that the team needed as goal scoring remains one of the team’s biggest weak points. Unfortunately, the first year with Kessel didn’t turn out to be the big acquisition that the team was hoping for. After an 28-goal, 82-point season in 2018-19, the 33-year-old saw quite a decline in his play with just 14 goals and 38 points in 70 games. That’s way below what they were hoping for and Arizona has to hope that Kessel can return to form this year in hopes of increasing his value if the team wants to move him at the trade deadline or next offseason when he has just one year left on his deal.
Kuemper has become the Coyotes’ top asset as the 30-year-old has been nothing short of dominant over the past two years and remains on a manageable contract. His name came up in trade speculation this offseason, but with so many free-agent goalies available, Arizona didn’t get the offers it was hoping for. That could change down the road. Yet at the same time, Kuemper might be worth keeping around down the road.
Three Years Remaining
None
East Notes: Bogosian, Chabot, Brassard, Lightning, Red Wings
After clearing unconditional waivers Saturday, the market for defenseman Zach Bogosian has become quite intense as teams are looking to pick up a veteran blueliner on the cheap with the trade deadline prices for rentals being extremely high at moment. In fact, three teams are currently the frontrunners for the veteran’s services, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger, including the Carolina Hurricanes, Pittsburgh Penguins and the Arizona Coyotes.
Carolina was already rumored to be looking for help on their blueline, but with the injury to Brett Pesce Saturday night in Toronto as well as the injury to Dougie Hamilton, the team is pushing even harder to add some depth. Pittsburgh is another candidate as they wait for the returns of Brian Dumoulin and John Marino. Arizona is a new candidate after the injury to Jakob Chychrun to an injury that looks to be serious.
Bogosian might serve as a band-aid for these teams, even though he has appeared in just 19 games this season.
- The Ottawa Senators could breathe easier today when they learned that defenseman Thomas Chabot, who left Saturday night’s game with a lower-body injury, suffered just a minor injury, according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. Apparently the injury is just a bruise. The 23-year-old tried to test his knee during a TV timeout Saturday, but could not go on it. While Chabot’s offensive numbers have been down this season, five goals and 33 points in 62 games, the blueliner has logged a career-high in minutes at 25:43.
- Newsday’s Andrew Gross reports that New York Islanders forward Derick Brassard skated Sunday for the first time since suffering a samll fracture to his cheek after taking a puck to his head on Wednesday in Colorado. He is considered day-to-day, but has cleared concussion protocol, although he said that he is still dealing with some nausea. “I had a broken jaw so I had a plate [inserted],” Brassard said of a previous injury. “I got hit just above it. I’m lucky a little bit. When I was down, I thought my ear had split in half because of the pressure.”
- With injuries to defensemen Ryan McDonagh and Erik Cernak, the Tampa Bay Lightning, who already have been active before the trade deadline, could be looking to add to their defensive core, according to The Athletic’s Joe Smith (subscription required). Tampa Bay already moved a first-round pick and top prospect Nolan Foote to New Jersey for forward Blake Coleman. However, since there is no word yet on the severity of Cernak’s injury, it’s possible that general manager Julien BriseBois could add even more as he’s “always on the lookout for an opportunity to improve.”
- MLive’s Ansar Khan reports that the Detroit Red Wings are holding out defenseman Mike Green and forward Andreas Athanasiou from Sunday’s game against Calgary. According to the Red Wings, they have both been scratched due to “asset management,” meaning both players are likely candidates to be traded by Monday.