Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
It’s rare to see a player like Jakob Chychurun on the trade block.
Chychrun, 24, has quietly become one of the best offensive defensemen in the NHL.
Dating back to the start of the 2020-21 season, Chychrun ranks first among defensemen – who have played a minimum of 700 minutes – in 5-on-5 goals per 60 minutes (0.51) and second to Cale Makar in goals per 60 minutes. (0.62), according to Natural Stat Trick.
Coming off an injury-riddled 2021-22 campaign, Chychrun – a left shot who plays on the right – has been on a tear since making his season debut on Nov. 21, recording 13 points in 14 games while averaging 22:13 per game.
Chychrun voiced his desire to be traded to a contender in late September and has been the subject of many rumor roundups. He carries a $4.6-million cap hit through the 2024-25 season. Given that he’d be more than just a rental for a team, there’s obviously going to be no shortage of suitors for the Boca Raton, Fla. native.
He may just be the perfect target for the Winnipeg Jets. But before we get into that, a few disclaimers are in order.
Yes, I know the Jets are missing three top-nine forwards right now – Nikolaj Ehlers, Blake Wheeler and Mason Appleton.
Yes, I know acquiring Chychurn would make the Jets’ blueline one of the NHL’s priciest.
And yes, I know that in the 12 years Kevin Cheveldayoff has been Winnipeg’s GM, Jay Harrison and Tyler Myers are the only two mid-season acquisitions that weren’t on expiring deals (with the exclusion of entry-level contracts).
But none of that diminishes the fact that Chychrun is precisely the type of player Winnipeg needs to make a legitimate Stanley Cup run.
In terms of championship criteria, the Jets’ roster checks a lot of boxes.
At forward, they’ve got three pillars down the middle in Mark Scheifele, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Adam Lowry, coupled with elite wingers in Kyle Connor and Nikolaj Ehlers – not to mention Blake Wheeler as well.
In net, they’ve got a Vezina Trophy frontrunner and possible Hart Trophy nominee in Connor Hellebuyck.
While Josh Morrissey has undoubtedly proven himself to be a surefire No. 1 defenseman this year, the makeup of the rest of the D-men is kind of murky.
Sure, Neal Pionk is a decent second-pairing defender, and if alongside a puck-mover, Dylan DeMelo is serviceable in the top four. But neither of those guys are top-pair players.
Brenden Dillon and Nate Schmidt – who were acquired to bolster Winnipeg’s defense corps ahead of the 2021-22 season – are probably most efficient as fifth and sixth on the depth chart. Logan Stanley is a fringe roster player, and top prospect Ville Heinola still has an unknown future.
Acquiring Chychrun would provide the Jets with two top-pairing caliber players and could give them three rock-solid defense pairings.
I’m not trying to dampen the good vibes surrounding the Jets — who moneypuck.com pegs as having the third-best odds to win the Stanley Cup — but their contention window is starting to narrow.
Hellebuyck, Scheifele and Wheeler will enter next season as pending free agents. If Dubois signs another one-year deal this off-season, he’ll also be a year away from unrestricted free agency afterward.
It’s not dramatic to say that the next two seasons could be the last kicks at the can for this core, which Cheveldayoff spent the better part of a decade drafting and developing. And while the Jets have been blindsided by injuries throughout the year, that’s not ignoring that their underlying metrics during 5-on-5 play aren’t very flattering; posting a 2.62 expected goals-for per 60 minutes (tied for 15th in the NHL) and 2.65 expected goals-against per 60 (18th) according to Natural Stat Trick.
How would this deal come together?
There are two elements to that, one being the price to acquire him and the other being how they can fit him under the cap.
The reported asking price for Chychrun is two first-round picks and a high-end prospect. That’s understandably a steep asking price, but I also believe it’s one that can be tweaked a bit.
For example, maybe Arizona would take a recent first-round pick – like Chaz Lucius, Brad Lambert or Rutger McGroarty – instead of a future pick, for one of the two requested firsts. You ought to think Heinola is part of any potential deal, too.
And while this may seem like the Jets selling the farm, it’s the type of tough, all-in move you make when you believe it can push your team over the top. The Jets would have to clear up cap space to do it, and surely it wouldn’t be difficult to find a suitor for one of their defensemen in an effort to do so.
While a mid-season roster reconfiguration could be uncomfortable for a conservative team like the Jets, the payoff of acquiring a top-pairing talent could be too good to pass up. That’s especially given how Rick Bowness’ system calls for the team to play more like a five-man unit, which would allow Chychrun to activate and join the rush to give a two-way boost to the team’s play.
And a big-time acquisition such as Chychrun can give a confidence boost to the Jets who desperately needed one heading into this season. They had their best chance as contenders in 2017-18 when they had Dustin Byfuglien stealing the show on the blueline.
After losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference final, they slid out of the Cup contending tier into the dark horse category.
If the Jets are the dark-horse team that acquires Chychrun, it’s safe to say they can return to that top tier and go all-in for two years of Cup-or-bust hockey.
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