Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman on The Jeff Marek Show on Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun – who will be interested and what would the potential acquiring cost be.
Marek notes they’d talked about the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, St, Louis Blues, Boston Bruins, New York Islanders and the Calgary Flames as potential landing spots for Chychrun.
Friedman: “And now we maybe think Rangers, maybe Columbus.”
Marek: “I think Columbus is in there, and I’m pretty confident the Florida Panthers are as well.”
Friedman: “I agree. That’s what they need too.”
Friedman later adds…
“I do think they are in big on defense, and I think they just feel if they had one more D who could play in their top four, I think they’d feel really, really good about themselves.
This has to be a go for it year for them.”
Marek later adds.
“The blue line is outstanding. They need one more big piece, ya probably, and if they can land Jakob Chychrun, then you can move Mackenzie Weegar down to a second pairing role. Move Forsling down, and all of a sudden, oh boy. That’s a tough team to beat.
Now, if you look at what Arizona wants, and we’ve talked about the Brent Burns deal – the prospect, the player, and the first-round pick. So you’re probably looking at Spencer Knight, Anton Lundell, first-round pick. It sounds like a lot, and it is, but that is going to be the price for Chychrun. These types of deals”
Friedman adds.
“Look, you’re getting a defenseman, a good player, who is on the long list for Team Canada, for three more years at a very good number. That is the thing that is going to cost you Jeff.
To me, that is a big price to pay, but you are looking at that and saying, that is the price we should expect to pay if we are going to be in this. Especially with the amount of teams we think are there.
So, I’ll tell you this, if that was on the table and I was Arizona, I might be saying: ‘Don’t hang up phone.'”
** NHLRumors.com transcription