NHL Rumors: Jakob Chychrun, Patrick Kane, and Brock Boeser
Anthony Scultore
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Today’s NHL Rumors dives into the latest rumblings regarding three of hockey’s biggest names.
We start in Arizona where Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun is still looking for a new home. We’ll continue with Chicago Blackhawks superstar Patrick Kane and the potential of playing for another Metro area team. Finally, the latest on Vancouver Canucks forward Brock Boeser.
Let’s dig in.
NHL Rumors: Jakob Chychrun
On the latest TSN Insider Trading, it’s being reported that trade talk concerning defenseman Jakob Chyhrun is picking up.
“I still think there’s apprehension among clubs with the most interest to pay the price that Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong is looking for,” Dreger explained. “But I think there’s also a group of teams that are getting to a point that they realize they may have to.”
Chyrchrun, 24, has six points in seven games since returning from injury and his desire to be traded has been public for awhile.
The Ottawa Senators were considered the frontrunner to land the Coyotes defenseman over the summer. They balked at Arizona’s asking price.
Another team that is a potential destination are the Los Angeles Kings, who have a deep prospect pool. Center Alex Turcotte is an excellent trade chip, but they’re also up against the salary cap and will need to shed salary to make a trade work.
Chychrun has 3 years remaining on his contract with an excellent AAV of at $4.6 million. Keep an eye on the Columbus Blue Jackets and Buffalo Sabres as other potential landing spots.
NHL Rumors: Patrick Kane
The Patrick Kane sweepstakes have begun even if the Chicago Blackhawks haven’t even begun entertaining offers.
One rumored destination are the New York Islanders now that they’re back in playoff contention. Their star center Mathew Barzal was asked about the possibility and did not hesitate to express his desire to play with Kane.
“He’s one of the best of all time,” Barzal told The Post. “It’d be pretty cool to play with a guy — he was second-to-none. Such a good passer, such a good goal-scorer, too. He really does a lot of everything with the puck. It definitely would be cool. I don’t know if [the rumor is] legit or not, but it’d definitely be cool.”
NY Post
The New York Rangers are still considered the favorites to land Kane, who would love to play with his good friend Artemi Panarin again. Of course, they need to start playing better and get back into the playoff mix.
In Dan Rosen’s recent mailbag for NHL.com, a fan asked about the league leading New Jersey Devils as a potential destination.
“If the Devils are going to go down this path, they’d be no different than other teams in the Kane sweepstakes,” Rosen replied. “To make it work, they would almost certainly have to give up their first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft and a top prospect in the ballpark of forward Alexander Holtz. The Blackhawks should ask for forward Dawson Mercer, a 21-year-old who could be a big part of their future core much the same way he is in New Jersey.”
Kane, 34, leads the team with 20 points in 25 games this season. He will be a UFA this summer and has a full no-move close to control where he lands. The Blackhawks will also need to retain 50% of his $10.5M cap hit.
NHL Rumors: Brock Boeser
Things are heating up with Brock Boeser, who was given permission to speak with other teams about a trade. According to Pierre LeBrun, at least six teams are interested.
“There is one team I believe that is pretty serious about getting involved if the Canucks [are] willing to eat part of Boeser’s contract,” LeBrun said. “But at this stage of the process, I don’t think Vancouver wants to do that. Clearing some serious cap space has to be a very important part of any trade involving Boeser from the Canucks’ perspective.”
Boeser, 25, has four goals and 16 points in 20 games this season for the Canucks. The big winger still has two more seasons at $6.65 million remaining on his contract.
This could very well be a preemptive move for Vancouver to move out salary in order to re-sign captain Bo Horvat.
