It appears as though Jakob Chychrun wants no part of another rebuild.
The Arizona Coyotes defenseman was a popular candidate to be moved ahead of this year's trade deadline before a lower-body injury in March ultimately ended his season.
But trade rumors surrounding Chychrun are expected to heat up again with Arizona now turning its focus to the offseason. And it doesn't sound like the 24-year-old would oppose moving to a contender.
"I don't know," Chychrun said Saturday when asked if he'd be OK not getting traded this summer, according to PHNX Sports' Craig Morgan. "I'm signed for three more years. The trajectory of where the team is going and a lot of that stuff is important to me. I want to be in a position where I'm getting to play a week from now, not packing up."
The Coyotes have been in full teardown mode since hiring general manager Bill Armstrong in September 2020. In his first full offseason in charge, Armstrong prioritized stockpiling draft picks and prospects, trading away multiple core players in the process.
This direction has frustrated Chychrun.
"I've been here my whole carer and absolutely love it here, and it seems like every time we get to a point where it looks like we're gonna be getting there, it just gets torn down again," he said. "That was kind of tough on me a bit this year, just naturally as a human being and competitive person. I want to win so bad. That's the only part that can be tough on me at times."
Chychrun recalled receiving advice from former Coyotes goalie Mike Smith about not taking an NHL career for granted.
"You only have so many chances at this, and you can't let them go by every year and say, 'Oh, it's another year.' Wash your hands and move on, get ready for the summer," Chychrun said. "You really have to take advantage of the short time you have in this league because it flies by."
Chychrun had a down season statistically. After finishing 10th in Norris Trophy voting in 2020-21 with 41 points in 56 games, he registered just 21 points in 47 contests this campaign.
He's signed to a team-friendly contract carrying a $4.6-million cap hit through 2024-25, only adding to his already high trade value.
Armstrong admitted Saturday that he'll survey the market this offseason.
"I think that's something that we're going to look to explore and see where that goes," Armstrong said, according to AZ Central's Jose Romero. "I'd be a lying GM if I said that I didn't talk to other GMs and try to explore, you know, try to move the club forward, make it better. So I think we'll look at all of our options, and that's one of them."
A report in January said the Coyotes sought a return similar to what the Buffalo Sabres received for Jack Eichel.
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