Rumor: Chychrun trade talks heat up, likely headed to Canadian team

According to Ottawa based TSN reporter Shawn Simpson, the Arizona Coyotes are holding out for a king's ransom in any potential deal for defenseman Jakob Chychrun. Simpson reports that the ask for Chychrun is comparable to the deal that the Columbus Blue Jackets received when they shipped Seth Jones to the Chicago Blackhawks last offseason.

Former TSN reporter Brent Wallace echoes Simpson's report and says that the Sens have been in discussions with the Coyotes this week.

You may recall that the Blackhawks shipped promising young defenseman Adam Boqvist, two 1st round picks and a 2nd round pick in exchange for Jones. To me, that's a serious overpay... especially when you consider how things have gone for the Blackhawks in just the past calendar year.

If the Coyotes are holding out for something similar, I don't see how a deal gets done unless there's a GM out there who is DESPERATE to keep his job. The Jones trade and the subsequent 8 year contract that he signed are going to hamstring the Blackhawks' rebuild for years to come. It was clearly a bad trade from the outset, but if there's a team out there who doesn't care about their future and who needs a player of Chychrun's talent ASAP there may be a deal out there. The biggest problem though, of course, is fitting Chychrun's $4.6 million under the salary cap, as well.