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The Toronto Maple Leafs were able to get the rest of their offseason business completed on Thursday, with the signing of defenseman Rasmus Sandin to a two-year, $2.8 million contract, but GM Kyle Dubas may not be done trying to improve his club with his future in Toronto on the line based on how successful the club is this season.
TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that the Leafs are one of six or more clubs who have checked in with Arizona on a possible trade for Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun. The 24-year-old has made it clear that he would prefer to be moved to a contender rather than go through a rebuild in the desert, but GM Bill Armstrong was not able to get a club to meet his price before the deadline or at the draft over the summer.
Chychrun played only 47 games last season and had surgeries on his wrist and to remove bone spurs from his ankle, but the former first-rounder is an extremely attractive commodity on the market based on his low cap hit ($4.6 million AAV) for the next three seasons.
Similar to current Leaf TJ Brodie, Chychrun is a left-handed shooter who can play both the left and right side, which would be a good fit for Toronto as a partner for either Morgan Rielly or Jake Muzzin in the top four.
The cost that Armstrong was seeking last season was four first-round equivalents (similar to what Buffalo was looking for center Jack Eichel), but the Sabres in the end lowered their price to three in the form of a 2022 first-round pick, and former first-rounders Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs and the Coyotes have reportedly followed suit.
Toronto is in a good situation cap wise, with a number of contracts expiring over the next two years, they have their 2023 first-round pick, and a number of young prospects on their entry-level deals or bridge contracts. Undoubtedly a Chychrun deal would follow the structure of a player, top prospect, and first-round pick, and according to Dreger, Arizona is willing to take back a salary to clear cap room for the other club.
A deal would likely consist of either Sandin or Timothy Liljegren, a #1, and perhaps a contract like Alex Kerfoot or Justin Holl, but Dubas may balk at including a top prospect like Topi Niemela or Matthew Knies.
Dubas and Armstrong pulled off a deal last February involving Nick Ritchie going to Arizona for Ilya Lyubushkin. With the possibility of Chychrun being dealt increasing exponentially, it is likely that a deal could happen before the start of the regular season or soon after.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
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