Jakob Chychrun made his thoughts known earlier this week he shared that he wasn't willing to entertain the idea of another rebuild in the Arizona market. Chychrun, 24, was drafted 16th overall by the Coyotes in 2016 and has only seen the playoffs once in his career. The idea of being forced to play his prime years in a market not serious about contending, was too much for him.
Chychrun was highly coveted at the trade deadline by teams like Boston, Toronto, Carolina and Los Angeles. But Arizona chose to wait until this summer to address the matter, believe that they could receive more via trade with the increased salary cap and more teams with cap space.
All reports seem to indicate that the Coyotes management were correct. According to insider sources, the Columbus Blue Jackets have emerged as a favorite to land Chychrun. The Jackets also have an asset that none of the other teams in the hunt can offer, that being a top 12 pick.
If the Blue Jackets are serious about acquiring Chychrun they have all the pieces in place to do so, but it doesn't necessarily align with their compete window. The Blue Jackets entered a rebuild after last season and Chychrun only has 3 years remaining on his current deal with a cap hit of $4,600,000 remaining.
Of note, Chychrun's contract is back loaded in actual cash so there is an incentive for cash strapped Arizona to move him before next season when actually cash owed climbs over $5,000,000
