Jakob Chychrun shot down better trade before getting moved to Ottawa!

Several fans are still criticizing the Arizona Coyotes with heavy scrutiny over the return the team got for defenseman Jakob Chychrun at the trade deadline earlier this month. The Coyotes ultimately dealt Chychrun to the Ottawa Senators for a top-five protected 2023 first-round pick, a 2024 conditional second-round pick (originally from the Washington Capitals) that becomes a top-10 protected first-round pick if Ottawa makes the 2023 Eastern Conference Final, and a 2026 second-rounder. It was first believed that at least two first round picks would be needed for GM Bill Armstrong to pull the trigger.

However, when explaining how the deal went down on the air of the Cam and Strick podcast, Armstrong explained how the Coyotes had an offer for Chychrun at the NHL Entry Draft but that the young blue liner didn’t want to go to that team.

“We could’ve crushed it, and we would’ve got two late first-rounders, and we would’ve had to take money back. Up from $3.1 million to $5.1 million back,” he said. “Why would we do that for two late firsts?”

The funny thing is that Chychrun’s contract, which carries a $4.6-million cap hit through 2024-25, doesn’t contain no-trade protection until a 10-team no-trade list kicks in next season. However, the team that made an offer quickly became hesitant to acquire Chychrun upon learning he wasn’t interested in joining them.

The trade fell through.

Months later, Chychrun was moved to Ottawa, where he offers fans a feel-good story by being close to his grandfather.

Armstrong defended the trade he managed to pull ahead of the deadline and is now ready to attack the free agent market with over $15 million in cap space. Maybe that will make him forget how in the summer of 2022 he could have gotten a better return for Chychrun…

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