Coyotes to sit Jakob Chychrun ‘until something happens’
Anthony Scultore
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The Arizona Coyotes are set to face the Nashville Predators on Monday night. They will do so without defenseman Jakob Chychrun, who was scratched on Saturday due to “trade-related reasons.”
According to multiple reports, Chychrun will remain a healthy scratch this week as Arizona works on a deal.
“He will remain out of the lineup until something happens,” head coach Andre Tourigny told reporters. “Now it’s time for the organization to take care of business and to make sure we’re on the safe side of everything.”
Chychrun, 24, is number one on our NHL Trade Bait Tracker in advance of the March 3 trade deadline.
Jakob Chychrun to sit amid trade speculation
Multiple media reports indicated that the Los Angeles Kings have been engaged in trade discussions with the Coyotes.
“The L.A. Kings are throwing cold water on [trade rumors],” Jeff Marek said on Saturday. “Keep in mind this is Dustin Brown night…retiring Number 23 but we’ll see where this one goes.”
As far as what the Kings would send the other way, it would likely be a prospect like Alex Turcotte and their first-round pick in 2023 for starters. One player they’re highly unlikely to include is Quinton Byfield.
In 36 games this season, Chychrun has 28 points (seven goals, 21 assists). In 373 career games across seven NHL seasons spent with Arizona, Chychrun has tallied 170 points (60 goals, 110 assists). He finished 10th in voting for the Norris Trophy for the league’s best defenseman in 2020-21, when he posted career highs of 18 goals and 23 assists.
A first-round draft pick in 2016, Chychrun requested a trade last season. He underwent wrist surgery over the offseason and returned to game action in late November.
The Coyotes (17-28-8, 42 points) are well outside the playoff race and Chychrun has a modified no-trade clause set to kick in next season.
“It’s not a situation that happened overnight,” Tourigny said. “He knew what was coming. We all knew. He’s (dealt) with (it) like an ultimate pro. His attitude this year was phenomenal. He was a good teammate, helped his teammates, smiled every day, showed up at the rink, worked hard, blocked shots, improved, played our system and all of it. He behaved like he should, like a real pro, so credit to him.”
Sportsnet
–Field Level Media contributed to this article