Are Sabres a dark horse to trade for Coyotes defenceman Jakob Chychrun?

After months of speculation surrounding a potential trade involving Arizona Coyotes defenceman Jakob Chychrun, the 24-year-old’s return to the lineup this week is sure to send the NHL’s rumour mill into a renewed frenzy.

Out for a lengthy stint while recovering from a wrist injury, the six-foot-two, 220-pound defender made his season debut for Arizona on Monday, logging 23 minutes against the Nashville Predators. In the two games since, he's averaged 23:18 of ice and collected a goal and two assists.

It’s not just Chychrun’s throwback blend of size and skill that’s drawn plenty of attention on the trade market — there’s also the fact that the 2016 16th-overall pick is signed for this season and the next two at just $4.6 million per year, an undeniable bargain for a young rearguard who put up 18 goals and 41 points in just 56 games two years ago, and has the potential to reach even higher.

While there’s sure to be plenty of suitors, Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek raised the possibility of the Buffalo Sabres — a club already flush with star blue-liners — being part of that group.

“You'll hear the likely candidates — we'll hear plenty about the Islanders, and we'll hear about the Kings, and we'll hear about the Columbus Blue Jackets. We're starting to wonder, as well, about maybe a dark-horse candidate in the Buffalo Sabers,” Marek said Saturday during Hockey Night in Canada’s ’32 Thoughts’ segment. 

“Now, Kevyn Adams, the general manager, has always maintained, 'We're sticking with youth and that's the way that we're going.' But there is a feeling out there that they run those big three young defencemen really hard — Mattias Samuelsson, Owen Power and Rasmus Dahlin, who's having a fantastic campaign.”

The Sabres already boast a top four stocked with two No. 1 picks in Power and Dahlin, while Samuelsson has emerged as a steady force beside the latter on the top pair. Dahlin leads the Sabres defence corps in scoring so far this season, his 23 points through 20 games also ranking second on the team overall.

Buffalo has plenty of other quality young talent, too — namely Tage Thompson, the big-bodied 25-year-old winger who was originally drafted 10 spots after Chychrun in 2016, and who currently leads the Sabres in scoring with 26 points through 21 games.

“You know, this is a team that doesn't need any more prospects — they've identified their core, they've locked them up long-term. They need to start to put together their team,” Marek said of Buffalo’s potential interest in adding the Coyotes’ star defender to that group. “Jacob Chychrun has this season and the next two seasons at $4.6 [million], and we're starting to wonder.”