The Washington Capitals have acquired defenseman Jakob Chychrun from the Ottawa Senators, per a team announcement. Ottawa is receiving defenseman Nick Jensen and a 2026 third-round pick in return. The deal comes nearly a year and a half after the Senators acquired Chychrun from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for a 2023 first-round pick, a 2024 second-round pick, and a 2026 second-round pick.
Chychrun should immediately step into a top-four position on the Capitals blue line next to a shutdown defenseman. On a subpar Senators team, Chychrun put up 14 goals and 41 points in 82 games with 16 of those points coming while on the team’s powerplay.
There is some critique of Chychrun’s game on the defensive side of the puck as he finished the 2023-24 season with a -30 rating on the team’s top-pairing. In Chychrun’s defense, Ottawa was plagued by uniquely bad goaltending during the regular season which could have also factored into Chychrun’s 88.0% on-ice save percentage in all situations. The young defenseman finished the year with an expected +/- of 0.4 according to HockeyReference which shows some of Chychrun’s poor defensive metrics were in part due to the Senators’ style of play.
Heading to Ottawa is Jensen who has two years remaining on a three-year, $12.12MM extension signed with Washington towards the end of the 2022-23 regular season. Heading into the 2023-24 season, Jensen was coming off a stretch of 153 games with the Capitals in which he scored 10 goals and 50 points from the blue line. Jensen would only score one goal and 14 points in 79 games for the Capitals this season in a disappointing follow-up.
Becoming more apparent by the day that Chychrun was unwilling to sign an extension with the Senators, the team can get out from under his contract while keeping their defensive structure in place. Chychrun will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season as the 26-year-old defenseman is approaching the end of a six-year, $27.6MM contract originally signed with the Arizona Coyotes.
Sens got fleeced, Wow
In one year, the Senators turned a first and two second round picks into a third round pick.
Staios what are you doing?
Traded a premium for DeBrincat and Chychrun just to lose on the trades to send them away after 1 year
Every team should have been in on this if that’s all it took
I know he had a wrist injury at one point, maybe his medicals are suspect & thus the drop in value? It does seem like a ton of teams should have offered more than what the Caps offered here.
♂️
Former GM was not good on trades.
Perron is 36, Jensen is 33. Not exactly a “youth movement” by the Sens.
… Huh?
Staios, you make a great move with Ullmark and then lay an egg with this trade? Wtf is the end goal here? Omfg what a bad move!
I can understand the ire of Senators fans says the man who cut his teeth with MLBs expansion Senators and one of MLB worst owners ever, Bob Short- or as I call him Shorty. Shorty did Staios one better. He didn’t trade the star player… He traded the whole friggin’ team to a different city… Alrington…
No not Arlington Va…
Arlington Texas!!!
Forunately for me we had moved to Buffalo where I was learning to love Hockey watching the best Sports Franchise I have ever seen- the early 70s Montreal Canadians
I know trades like this seem like a gut punch. But take heart. this is one bad trade closer to a better GM. I’m not saying the next one is going to be better. But it is still closer than you were yesterday. Good luck Sens