Before acquiring Dmitry Orlov from the Capitals last week, the Bruins explored trades for several other defensemen, including Arizona's Jakob Chychrun, who has long been considered the top blue-liner on the market.
In fact, according to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski, Boston was "very much in on" Chychrun. There was at least one significant "stumbling block," though: the Bruins wanted the Coyotes to retain some of Chychrun's salary.
It's an understandable ask from the Bruins, and an understandable denial from the Coyotes. Salary retention was going to be a necessity in pretty much any trade the Bruins made given how tight against the cap they are, unless they were able to move out multiple contracts.
In order to fit Orlov and Garnet Hathaway in, the Bruins had to dump Craig Smith, have the Capitals retain 50% of Orlov's salary, and loop in Minnesota to retain another 25%.
Chychrun's cap hit ($4.6 million) is fairly comparable to Orlov's ($5.1 million), but the difference is that Orlov is a free agent after this season, while Chychrun is signed through the 2024-25 season. That means the Capitals and Wild are only retaining Orlov money for the rest of this season, while the Coyotes would be retaining on Chychrun for more two more years after this.
The Coyotes not wanting to do that is understandable, especially since Chychrun is already a good value at his current salary, but it certainly limits the market since most playoff teams are right up against the cap just like the Bruins.
Chychrun would have been nice as a younger, longer-term fit with more offense in his game, but the Bruins could end up happier with Orlov for this season. He has a lot more playoff experience (74 games to 9, all of which came in the weird bubble year in Chychrun's case), plays a more rugged game, and has been more durable throughout his career.
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