Toronto Maple Leafs: Jakob Chychrun Rumours Spice Up the Dog Days

The Toronto Maple Leafs are always going to provide us with interesting rumours, and especially so when there are only three weeks left in the summer and there is nothing to do but watch a Junior Tournament no one cares about.

The latest rumour, courtesy of hockeybuzz.com, is that the Toronto Maple Leafs are in talks for the Arizona Coyotes star defenseman, Jakob Chychrun.

I’ll give you three guesses who the other player going back in the deal is.

If your first guess wasn’t William Nylander, how are you possibly reading about hockey in August? Accidently, I assume.  The superstar forward is among the NHL’s best, and hasn’t been able to hit his full potential in TO because of the star-studded roster, but is forever linked to trades rumours despite the GM actually saying he’d never trade him.

So is this a sensible deal for the Buds?

Toronto Maple Leafs and the Possibility of Jacob Chychrun

Chychrun scored 18 times in the shortened season of 2021, but had a pretty disappointing season this past year when he only lit the lamp seven times, and finished with just 21 points in 47 games.

The drop off in goals isn’t a real concern. 18 in 56 is ridiculous for a defenseman, and if the Coyotes didn’t suck so badly, he likely wouldn’t get so many chances (he’d pass more to Auston Matthews if he played here for example) but that’s still a lot, even with a ton of luck and a10% individual shooting percentage.

The fact that it dropped to just 4% this season shows you shouldn’t be too concerned with the drop off in production.  He’s elite offensively, and he’s got a great contract that runs through his prime (24-27).

He is not bad defensively, and is, at the absolute worst, a top pairing defender with upside, and one who has a Norris Trophy ceiling. (cap info from capfriendly.com, stats from naturalstattrick.com).

I love William Nylander, and will freely admit he is one of my favorite players.  I also think it’s lazy, to the point of pathetic, how frequently the Toronto Media especially tries to trade him.

But if you could swap Nylander for Chychrun, even if you have to add prospects and a pick, it’s probably a trade you win big-time, considering the ages, and contracts.  The Leafs would save two million and get an extra year of control, plus they get a player who is three years younger.

The only problem? Trades do not happen in a vacuum and the rest of the team’s make-up must be considered.  In this case, there probably isn’t a team in the NHL less in need of Jakob Chychrun than the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Stay tuned tomorrow where I’ll break down the eight or so reasons why this would be a terrible trade for the Leafs.