Joe Patarino 
The seemingly neverending rumors surrounding the LA Kings and Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun were put into hyperdrive on Saturday.
The Coyotes were in St. Louis for what seemed to be a rather inauspicious matchup between two teams that will miss the playoffs. That is until Arizona announced that Jakob Chychrun was going to be a healthy scratch:
ROSTER UPDATE: Coyotes D Jakob Chychrun is a healthy scratch tonight versus the St. Louis Blues due to trade related reasons. F Liam O'Brien is day to day with an upper body injury. Defensemen Victor Soderstrom & Dysin Mayo have been recalled from the Tucson Roadrunners (AHL).
— Arizona Coyotes PR (@AZCoyotesPR) February 12, 2023
The speculation ramped up, and we started to get a little more clarity from Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek:
.@JeffMarek provides an update on the trade rumours currently surrounding Jakob Chychrun. pic.twitter.com/6ezFHT9Dfl
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 12, 2023
Marek’s comments had led many to believe that LA was out on Chyrchrun, despite the fact he quite clearly stated the team “poured cold water” on the idea, which made sense. As Marek alluded to, Saturday night was Dustin Brown‘s night. It would make sense for the Kings not to want anything to be a distraction to their former captain’s ceremony.
Things picked up even more when the Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli noted the continuing smoke around the LA Kings and Chychrun:
Lots of smoke connecting #LAKings with Jakob Chychrun, but no confirmed fire yet. And so, we wait.@DailyFaceoff
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) February 12, 2023
The LA Daily News’ Andrew Knoll provided more context:
https://twitter.com/AndrewKnollNHL/status/1624654696890892295?s=20&t=gOESwFaUTytTE58CqWN7iw
There was very little in terms of any potential players going the other way on Saturday. That changed on Sunday:
Sounding like a Jakob Chychrun @LAKings @ArizonaCoyotes trade centered around 2021 8th overall pick Brandt Clarke. #RealKyperandBourne
— Nick Kypreos (@RealKyper) February 12, 2023
Knoll, again, added some additional context:
https://twitter.com/AndrewKnollNHL/status/1624910742578417664?s=20&t=gOESwFaUTytTE58CqWN7iw
Oh, but that’s not all. There just might be another twist to this potential deal:
Anticipate a goalie swap happening in the Jakob Chychrun trade. Hearing from multiple sources that LA has had their eyes on Vejmelka for a while.
— Gabriel Foley (@NHLFoley) February 12, 2023
So as we sit here on the night of a certain big NFL game, all signs are pointing to the league’s longest rumor finally coming to fruition and Jakob Chychrun ending up with the LA Kings. That is, of course, unless another team is able to up their offer. While Marek noted the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers are out, Knoll reports that the Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames remain interested.
*7:30m pm PT update*
Shortly after the original version of this article was published, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta tweeted that he heard Jakob Chychrun was told by the Kings that he was NOT going to be traded. Pagnotta followed that up with this:
Clarke’s agent, Randy Robitaille, confirms to me his client has been told he’s not being moved. https://t.co/FWYhMHedAt
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) February 13, 2023
Whether this means the LA Kings were able to come up with a deal that doesn’t include Brandt Clarke or he’s heading elsewhere, we’ll have to wait and see. We could get a resolution as early as Monday.
(Main Photo Credit: Norm Hall, Getty Images)