Why would the Rangers want Jakob Chychrun?

The hot rumor in the NHL these days revolve around Jakob Chychrun of the Arizona Coyotes.  The New York Rangers are supposed to be in on the Chychrun sweepstakes according to hockey insiders.  The question many are asking is, why?

Hockey trades are not made in a void.  There are many considerations with the salary cap the biggest.  While on the surface, a Chychrun acquistion makes no sense, it’s worth taking a look.

Who is Jakob Chychrun?

Jakob is a 24-year old left shot defenseman who was drafted 16th overall by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.  He made his debut in 2016-17 as an 18-year old and is in his sixth full season in the NHL.

He was the fourth ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting, but slipped to the 16th pick with defensemen Olli Juolevi, Mikhail Sergachev, Jake Bean and Charlie McAvoy all going before him in the draft.   He is the son of former NHL player Jeff Chychrun.

Chychrun exploded offensively last season with 18 goals and 41 points in 56 games for the Coyotes.  Throughout his career he has had rock solid possession statistics and solidified his spot as one of the top young blueliners in the NHL.

This season, his play has suffered with only two goals and eight points in 29 games.  It doesn’t help that he is playing for one of the worst teams in the NHL and in his six seasons, he has made it to the postseason just once.

He is not a one-dimensional player.  He can play defense and last season he led the team in ice time when at even strength.  He is not known for his penalty killing, on the Coyotes’ third pairing on the PK.

One thing that makes him an attractive target is his contractual status. In 2018 he signed a six-year, $27.6 million contract with an Average Annual Value (AAV) of $4.6 million that runs three more years after this one, through the 2024-25 season.

The rumor

On Hockey Night in Canada Saturday, Sportsnets’ Jeff Marek said that the Rangers have an offer on the table for Chychrun.  Here is what Marek said, because it is a little unclear.

“They do have that [offer] from one team in the NHL as we speak now, essentially two former first-round players and a first-round draft pick. That auction though does continue. Los Angeles, Anaheim, Boston, Florida, who may very well be the team to watch through all of this. The Rangers as well are in, they’ve offered a package that includes Vitali Kravtsov, and the Columbus Blue Jackets interested in the services of Jakob Chychrun as well.”

What’s unclear is whether the Rangers offer is the one offer that he spoke of.  If it is, then that means the Rangers have offered two former first round picks along with their own first rounder.

Kravtsov fits the bill as a former first rounder.  The are a number of other former first rounders who could be included in such an offer.  They are Braden Schneider, Alexis Lafreniere, Kaapo Kakko, Filip Chytil, Julien Gauthier, K’Andre Miller, Nils Lundkvist and Ryan Strome.  There are other former first rounders (Zibanejad, Kreider, Trouba) on the team, but they are untouchables.

Why do it?

Adding Jakob Chychrun to a top four blueline corps that includes Adam Fox, Jacob Trouba and Ryan Lindgren would give the Rangers the most impressive group of defensemen in the NHL.    It would also mean that they would have committed $25 million of their salary cap to four defensemen.

But Chychrun is seen as an offensive player and a power play quarterback when the Rangers already have Fox and Trouba for that role.  Chychrun got over a third of his points last season on the powerplay.  Not only, but in Nils Lundkvist and Zac Jones they have two prospects who are offensively minded.

If you add Jakob Chrychrun, what does that mean for K’Andre Miller who has been a mainstay on the top four into his second season?

The one reason why this deal would make sense is that it would be a precursor to more deals.

Intangibles

If Drury is able to swing a deal for Chychrun, he would have to give up one of team’s top young prospects on defense.  Let’s just say that the deal is Kravtsov, Lundkvist and a first round pick.  If he could get Arizona to take Patrik Nemeth in the deal, it would lessen the salary cap impact since Nemeth is signed for two more years at a $2.5 AAV (he does have a modified no trade clause).

A deal like that would pave the way for Braden Schneider to be a regular, perhaps with Zac Jones as his partner though other lefty blueliners who could fill that role include K’Andre Miller, Matthew Robertson, Tarmo Reunanen and Libor Hajek.

Perhaps most important is it would free Drury up to trade a top talent like Miller or even Schneider for the forward help that the Rangers need.

Still, on the surface, the Rangers pursuit of Chychrun doesn’t make much sense.  The whole world knows what the team needs, a center who can win faceoffs and a winger who can score. While getting Chychrun could be a step towards making those acquisitions, you have to wonder if Drury could use his best trade chips in Kravtsov and a young defenseman in another deal.

Despite the Rangers rumors, the team considered the favorite to land Chychrun are the Florida Panthers.  He was born in Boca Raton and the the Panthers have the pieces to trade.  If he ends up in Sunrise, it could make the Panthers a team that could stand in the way of the Rangers quest for a Stanley Cup for years to come.   Sometimes the deals you make to prevent other teams from getting that vital piece is even more important.

Right now it is all speculation.  We’ll be watching.