Keeping players out for ‘trade-related reasons’ is a bad look for the NHL

Problem is: there wasn’t. And now the Coyotes have a precious asset — Chychrun — sitting in the press box every night rather than doing what he’s paid to do: play hockey.

Now, I understand that Chychrun made his own bed to a certain extent. It’s been well over a year since the veteran of 373 NHL regular season games requested a trade. So considering he wants out, the Coyotes don’t owe Chychrun anything.

But I still don’t like that the 24-year-old from Florida now sits in hockey limbo, waiting for something to happen. Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong has had ample time to move on from the defender, but he’s yet to find an amicable solution.

So here we are. Waiting for NHL teams to stop playing chicken with one another in regard to Chychrun. 

The handling of his situation has caused a cascade effect around the league. On Feb. 14, just two days after the Coyotes announced Chychrun’s perpetual inactivity, the Columbus Blue Jackets followed suit by withholding defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov from the lineup.

There it is again: ‘trade-related reasons.’

Before this year, I’d never seen that phrase used by an NHL team. And on one hand, I do appreciate the transparency. The NHL has far too long been secretive, especially relating to injuries and lineup decisions.

But on the other hand, I think it’s brutal that teams are not putting their best product on the ice. Fans pay to see the top hockey players in the world. I think it sends the wrong message to keep healthy players out of the lineup that would typically never miss a game.

I will say this: if Chychrun had been traded promptly after the Feb. 11 announcement, I wouldn’t be writing this. Same with Gavrikov. But the longer the process drags on, the more it irks me.

And I think we’re going to see more of it. The Vancouver Canucks just did the same thing with defenseman Luke Schenn on Tuesday, keeping him out of the lineup for trade-related reasons. Yet no deal has been announced in the past 24 hours.

To me, this is uncharted territory. I can vividly remember NHL teams sitting players a day or two before the trade deadline. And I was fine with that. Missing one game wasn’t a big deal. But that’s not what’s going on now.

Think about the Chychrun situation. There have been so many choke points that have passed since the original trade request. The 2022 NHL trade deadline came and went with no deal. Same thing with the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. Then Armstrong held onto Chychrun through the entire off-season.

There must be so much frustration boiling just below the surface for Chychrun. Even though his health status likely stalled trade talks (he returned to action in mid-November after missing eight months due to various injuries), no player wants to spend a year and a half waiting for a trade that seems like it may never happen.

Imagine if the Coyotes don’t find a suitor for Chychrun. What a colossal mess it would be. Yet somehow, I wouldn’t bet against it. Armstrong has held firm this long in his demanded return for Chychrun; why not keep going?

I don’t like to think about that scenario. I want to see the players on the ice. And I’m sure the feeling is similar within the locker room. No matter how bad management wants to lose — and thus increase the chances of landing prospective 2023 No.1 overall draft pick Connor Bedard — the players don’t want any part of tanking.

It’s not fun taking the ice on a team that’s undermanned. And I did that often during my career. Of the seven NHL teams I played for, only one made the playoffs that season. But at least those teams hadn’t completely given up when I was on the roster. No one was being held out of the lineup for weeks at a time.

The hard part is that nothing prevents NHL teams from holding players out of the lineup due to trade-related reasons. If a head coach can scratch a player for any reason, so can management. And I understand why. General managers need to protect assets. Risking injury seems silly with just over a week until the trade deadline.

But that doesn’t mean I have to like it. And I also think holding players out of the lineup for an extended period hurts them in the long run.

As my Daily Faceoff teammate Frank Seravalli pointed out during Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff Live, some teams are now hesitant to trade for a player that hasn’t touched the ice in a few weeks. They’re wary of trying to get that player back up to speed.

I was traded twice during my career. And in both instances, it took nearly a month to feel completely integrated with my new team. There are so many variables. Everything feels different.

I can tell you firsthand that no player feels the same drawing back into the lineup for the first time after an extended layoff. Game conditions simply cannot be replicated in practice. 

So while there are still twenty-something games left for most NHL teams, the actual runway to the Stanley Cup playoffs isn’t very long. And I can’t help but wonder if Chychrun and Gavrikov might actually be losing trade value.

The bottom line is this: I know I’m complaining about something that’s unlikely to change. But keeping players out of the lineup for trade-related reasons goes against every ounce of competitive spirit ingrained in a professional athlete. 

And I think it’s caused a collective eye-roll amongst hockey fans. Something the sport needs much less of.