Kings Trade Talk; Chychrun Rumors Heating Up

When there's smoke, there's fire. 

And there's been a lot of smoke surrounding the Los Angeles Kings trading for Jakob Chychrun over the last 18 months. And now, there might finally be fire.

Before their game against the St. Louis Blues Saturday, the Arizona Coyotes announced that Chychrun would be a healthy scratch for "trade-related reasons."

Sending fans and NHL reporters into a frenzy speculating about where Chychrun would end up, with reports varying. Obviously, as a team that's been linked with Chychrun for a while now, the Kings were at the heart of these speculations.

The Athletic's Daniel Nugent-Bowman tweeted that "it doesn't sound like Chychrun is going to the Oilers or Kings."

Sportsnet's Jeff Marek reported that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers are not trading for Chychrun and that the Kings are "throwing cold water" on the rumor. He added that the Kings could still be in the race and were downplaying the rumors because of their focus on Dustin Brown's big night Saturday. 

BostonHockeyNow has also given an update regarding the Chychrun rumors. Before the Coyotes game a trusted NHL source told them:

“They’re (the Bruins) in it; that I know for sure. How much they are? I can tell you it’s gotta be pretty good if they still are at this point. I think the Kings are definitely the frontrunners and I know the Bruins can’t match what they can offer. The thing is though, do they Kings want to unload that much in an offer? I don’t know. We’ll see. I can tell you this too, I’d keep an eye on Buffalo. Total dark horse but they’ve got plenty to offer too.”

BHN checked back with the source after Chychrun was scratched and they said:

"I believe the Bruins are still in on Chychrun, again, I’m betting on the Kings, but I think the Bruins still have a chance.” 

This is still a very fluid situation and we'll keep updates coming on. 

One thing is for sure, the Chychrun saga will be over soon. Whether it ends with him in a Kings sweater or somewhere else is yet to be seen.