Trading for Jakob Chychrun makes sense for Islanders, but can they?

Jakob Chychrun's name keeps coming up as a trade target for the New York Islanders. It's obvious to see why. He's a left-shot defenseman who can put up goals and points, QB a power play, and move the puck out of the D-zone to set up the offense. On top of that, he's young and has a really good contract ($4.6 million AAV till 2024-25).

He checks just about every box for the Islanders as they look to strengthen their defense and provide a bit more offense from the back end. Again, he checks just about every box for the Islanders. So can they make it happen? Probably not.

New York Islanders: Can they trade for Jakob Chychrun?

We heard rumors last year that Chychrun was on the block and that the price for him was two-firsts. On that alone the Islanders can get the trade done. First-round picks mean nothing at the moment as the Islanders try to fight their way out of the basement and back to a playoff position.

But think about one thing for a second. If Jakob Chychrun checks every box for the Islanders wouldn't he also check every box for the Arizona Coyotes? Of course, he does. So why would the Coyotes look to offload one of the only promising pieces of their team?

Right? Why would they want to trade him? The answer is: they don't.

Since 2019-20 no defenseman has more goals than Chychrun's 32 (Columbus Blue Jackets Zach Werenski is tied at 32). Chychrun isn't on the block. He's the star of the show there in the desert.

I know that Arizona is in a rebuild (still) but they have a 23-year-old top-end puck-mover locked in for the next three years with a very affordable $4.6 million cap hit. As they move through this rebuild, Chychrun is the pillar they're going to build around. Moving him for more futures isn't the play for the 'Yotes.