A bottom-feeder team with no salary cap flexibility is not a good place to be. It’s a rare situation, but it’s one the Senators find themselves in. They’re 29th in the NHL despite lacking the cap space to carry a full roster all season long.
That unfortunate combination has new Senators GM Steve Staios examining possible trades to finally kickstart the Senators’ rebuild out of low gear while freeing up financial maneuverability in the process. Their internal list of expendable names includes blueliner Jakob Chychrun, according to a report from The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta.
The 25-year-old has been a constant in trade talks over the past few seasons as a member of the Coyotes, but most assumed that would end when Arizona finally pulled the trigger on a deal to send him to Ottawa for three draft picks days before last season’s deadline. Less than 11 months later, though, his name has re-entered trade discourse.
Per Pagnotta, multiple league sources and one anonymous NHL GM have heard Chychrun’s name pop up in recent weeks. No one would go so far as to claim the Senators were actively shopping the 2016 first-round pick, though.
The fact that Chychrun is back on the trade block is not at all a reflection of his play since joining the Senators. He’s put up 31 points in 50 games (a 51-point pace), including last season’s post-deadline stint, all the while playing over 22 minutes per game and logging solid possession metrics. His pairing with sophomore Jake Sanderson is top-ten in the league at limited expected goals against among duos with over 100 minutes together, per MoneyPuck data, seeing tougher competition than most others at the high end of that stat. He’s also logged significant minutes on his off-side with Thomas Chabot this year, controlling 55.3% of expected goals.
This season, he leads Senators defensemen in all scoring categories with seven goals, 19 assists and 26 points in 38 games. Injuries remain a concern and will limit his trade value, having never played more than 70 games in a season since debuting with Arizona in 2016, but he remains a top-pairing caliber defenseman when in the lineup.
Locked into a $4.6MM cap hit through this season and next, that’s tough value to beat. Nearly every contending team looking to add an impact player on defense will ring Staios over the next seven weeks before the March 8 trade deadline if Chychrun’s name remains on the table. Per CapFriendly, Chychrun has a ten-team no-trade clause, so he has some say in any potential deal.
Could the Kings take another swing at Chychrun? It would be funny if he wound up in L.A. after all the rumors last year.
Lol.. no it wouldn’t, that would be a catastrophe… Chychrun’s a bust and I don’t want him in a Kings jersey at any price..
#GoKings
I don’t think so, they seem pretty set at D right now and I’m sure the cost would be high.
I was thinking if Englund didn’t work out Chychrun would be an upgrade for sure. His health issues and the cap make it very unlikely for the Kings. I’m more worried about the coach at this point. A Dallas loss and it might be over for Todd.
I’m convinced T-mac is on his way out… Early Feb at the latest.
Yeah, I would fire him tonight. lol He’s so outta here.
would be dumb to move him. one of the better value contracts. it’s Chabot, korpi and Forsberg that is killing them.
move them to clear future cap room and kubalik, tarasenko and Brannstrom since none will be back
A waste of a trade made by a former GM that definitely lacked any understanding of the salary cap short & long term. If you don’t have the cap space for a extension you don’t make the trade if you are rebuilding.
Thomas Chabot is a walking mash unit!
The Buffalo Sabres have been interested in Chychrun ever since his high school days with Pegula’s daughter.
They swung hard for him last year, but AZ demanded more than what they settled for with OTT.
But it makes little sense for the Sabres to pursue him. That’s not because of where they are now (they won’t be a bottom-ten team over the course of his career.) Chychrun does not compliment the D needs of the Sabres.
Kinda dumb to shop him. Ottawa isn’t all THAT far from contention, and a good defensemen at his age is someone you want to hang on to as a building block of your team.
They’re in last place in the east. How much farther from contention can they be.
@djapana
To be fair, Ottawa has quite a few games in hand on the two current wild card teams. Six on TBL, and five on Detroit. Win those, and they’re back in the thick of the race. But that doesn’t seem likely.
I didn’t mean contention THIS season; that ship’s sailed. But you deal a quality 25 year old defenseman only if you’re sure your team isn’t going to be competing for the next few seasons.
Buffalo already has about $23 million committed to 3 players on D long term.
Panthers send Spencer Knight and a little more for him. Knight probably will excel on a new team
I don’t think OTT is “shopping” him. But under their circumstances, they’d be derelict to not assess his value.
Knight plus a sweetener might attract OTT. Chyrhrun would be able to go home.
Senators fans need to put down the crack pipe if they think that Knight is going to be moved.
Good…. We don’t need another AHL level goalie
Why shouldn’t Knight be moved? He is not helping the team and is in the minors and costs $3.3 million against the cap. Stolarz GAA is 2.22 and is adequate as a backup for around $1 million. Chychrun is only 25 and signed through next year and would be a huge improvement to the team and then can be dealt or extended next year. I would do this in a second. So please tell me why Knight should not be moved.
Isn’t Chychrun the guy who had some kind of link to Luke Richardson or was it someone else? I can’t remember who it was. Whether he is or not the Hawks need another RH D-Man. Chychrun would fit right in and the Hawks have assets. 9 mil for 2 years, That isn’t bad for him.
Chychrun is a lefty but can play right
Either way the Hawks need a puck possession Defenseman. The Hawks top 4 are good. Jones-Vlasic and Korchinski-Murphy. Then it gets dicey. I thought it said he played on the right but now I don’t see it but thanks!
He does play on the right a lot but he is a lefty. Like Brodie in Toronto who primarily plays on the right but is a lefty. It’s doable for some defenseman.
I like Vlasic and Korchinksi. Also thought Phillips looked really good when toronto played them last
A team like EDM should kill two birds…
Offer Nurse plus enough picks for Chychrun.
Get a better player at a lower cap hit (even if it’s short term) and get out from under that cap killing deal to better fill out the roster.
No way Ottawa takes that deal
By definition, the phrase “enough picks” says they do take the deal.
You are free to decide how many picks are enough.
“e·nough
/iˈnəf/
determiner
as much or as many as required.”
What picks does Edmonton have that they already haven’t traded away, and don’t need for the future and would give up for a year n half of Chychrun? Also Ottawa pay 9+ million for a defenseman who sucks when they are heading towards a rebuild? Neither team takes that deal it’s a terrible deal for both sides. One of those deals you see happen in NHL 24 the video game
OTT is already at the cap ceiling, which is why this rumor exists. They won’t trade to raise their cap.
Ottawa is looking to remove salary beyond this season on top of getting some future assets.
Dumb to move Chychrun. They would be better off to move Chabot before Jul 1.
It must be January, if the “I’m hearing Player X’s name in the rumor mill” nonsense starts up again.
Rangers would finally have the perfect partner for Schneider if they acquire him. I believe we can get a deal done by offering Matthew Robertson and Kakko.
Drury needs to get a deal for Chycrun and a righty scorer to play with Mika line.
Maybe Batherson or other winger.
Any team that entertains any deal with Ottawa should be mindful of the fact that, Chabot, Chychrun, And Norris can’t stay healthy!
Leafs give Robertson, Liljegren, 1st pick in 24, Samsonov for Chychrun and Forsberg.
Claude, Tarasenko & Jakub all need to be dealt for picks & prospects. Dealing Claude & Jakub will help free up cap space for next season.