How the Blue Jackets Can Acquire Jakob Chychrun
The Blue Jackets held veteran defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov out of the lineup on Tuesday night, as they try to move his services before the upcoming trade deadline. While his trade is going to certainly be for futures, one idea that circulated yesterday and has Jacket fans buzzing: can the team somehow flip assets and come out of this situation with Jakob Chychrun?
It’s a tough situation in Columbus this year as the team continues to retool its lineup with a focus towards competing soon, rather than later. GM Jarmo Kekalainen has done a terrific job rebuilding the prospect pool, which recently ranked as the third best in the league by Scott Wheeler and the Athletic.
But, the on ice results at the NHL level have been far less than desirable. Even after signing Johnny Gaudreau last summer and adding some toughness to the lineup with Mathieu Olivier and Erik Gudbranson, the Jackets have been outright terrible this season. Some of that is the result of injuries, but even without the injuries, this is a team with glaring holes in two key positions: at center, and on defense.
Even with the holes on defense, they find themselves in a tough situation with beloved defenseman Gavrikov, who has opted not to re-sign with the team for whatever reason. His on ice compete level is fantastic, and his personality is infectious. He’s been a leader on the back end and for the younger European players in general since coming here.
Trading him at this point probably leaves this team’s defense at least 2-3 years away from being competitive again. It stings for a variety of reasons. So the first and most important thing on Jarmo’s checklist this offseason has to be finding some kind of stop-gap player to play on the left side of that second pairing, to at least buy time for a prospect like Stanislav Svozil or Denton Mateychuk to work their way into the league.
What better player than Jakob Chychrun? Everything about him is perfect for what this team needs: he’s big, physical, is an extremely effective in-zone defender – especially along the wall – and even has big-time offensive abilities. He’s just 24 years old, and is signed for two seasons after this one at a very team-friendly $4.6m AAV.
He grew up in hockey alongside current Jacket defenseman Andrew Peeke, and if they were somehow able to get him, it’s likely that these two would form the second defense pair for this team. It’s really the perfect scenario, and it could buy just enough time for the prospects to simmer and become NHL players.
The first step towards making this trade for the Blue Jackets: convincing Chychrun that Columbus might be the right fit for him. He has a 10-team no-trade list, and is rumored to have nixed a trade to the Jackets over the summer … but that may have changed after the team inked Gaudreau.
Let’s pretend for a minute that Chychrun is open to a trade to Central Ohio. One thing we know is that, the Jackets have zero interest in trading their first round pick this season. And, the Coyotes probably have no interest in a 2024 first rounder – which the Jackets would probably want to add protection to in the event that it’s another lottery pick.
For these reasons, trading Gavrikov now, then trying to use the assets they get in return for him, could make a lot of sense. The rumored asking price: a 2023 first round pick, plus an additional third AND fourth round pick. Assume we’re talking about the Boston Bruins, who are the rumored front-runners:
That’s a steep price tag, but looking at the Bruins’ cap situation, they could make it work – which can’t be said about some of the other players made available at this deadline. As we’ve discussed before, Gavrikov might be the perfect fit for the B’s on the back end. He plays the left side and fills their need for a shutdown defenseman. In this scenario, they split the picks across two seasons – so the Bruins can make their run, but still have some draft capital at their disposal.
Now, on the Jackets side of things, they suddenly have 10 picks for the 2023 draft, including two in the first and third rounds; and three in the fourth round. They can make a serious offer to the Coyotes for Chychrun, if they’re willing to part with some of these riches.
Here’s a thought: the Jackets can send back a real rarity in this league. A young, talented, offensive minded, right-hand shot defenseman. Boqvist is a recent 8th overall pick, whose skill is starting to show through a little bit with 12 points through 22 games this season. He’s missed time due to injury over the last couple of seasons; but he would give the Coyotes an asset that can go into their lineup right away, and at just 22 years old, his best years are certainly ahead.
PUT A BOW-QVIST ON IT 🎀 pic.twitter.com/9BfpHJ055g
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) February 15, 2023
This may seem expensive for the Jackets, but we have to remember a couple of things here. First, the Coyotes want two first round assets in this deal – this trade checks that box. Second, you have to out-bid the other teams in the hunt. Adding in a young player who is currently playing in the NHL, may just do that.
In the end, would they really miss Boqvist all that much? Look at how many names this team has when you’re looking at right-shot defensemen: Andrew Peeke, Erik Gudbranson, Nick Blankenburg, Marcus Bjork; and prospects David Jiricek and Corson Ceulemans.
I think if you’re acquiring Chychrun, sending a player like Boqvist the other way doesn’t sting all that much. Rolling out a top-six next year with some combination of Werenski, Chychrun, Peeke, Gudbranson, Blankenburg, Jiricek, Tim Berni, and Jake Bean, doesn’t seem all that bad – especially not when you compare it to what we’ll have for the rest of this season.
It’s really unlikely that it happens, but it’s an exciting thought. No matter how you spin it, by trading Gavrikov, it’s crucial for the Jackets to find someone else to play on that left side next season. Chychrun would be the perfect fit.
Next. Deadline Discussion: Elvis Merzlikins. dark