Chychrun Officially Joins Capitals At Informal Skates, Defenseman Coming Off Strong Summer Of Training trucc

The 26-year-old blueliner joins Dylan Strome, John Carlson, Matt Roy, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Logan Thompson, Alex Alexeyev and more at the on-ice sessions so far.

For Chychrun, it's just another way to continue preparing for the upcoming campaign, as he's kept in shape over the course of the offseason. To kick off the summer, he attended an open skate in Sarnia, where he played junior hockey for two years with the Sting, and since then, has kept busy with off-ice workouts.

Chychrun was acquired from the Ottawa Senators on the opening day of free agency in exchange for Nick Jensen, who was also at informal skates for the Capitals earlier in the summer.

Washington brought in Chychrun as part of its roster overhaul this summer, which saw D.C. turn over roughly a third of its team. The Capitals also signed defenseman Matt Roy to further bolster the blue line, but Chychrun is expected to help not only add strength to the top-4 but give the team some more offense from the backend as well.

Chychrun is expected to play on the top pairing with John Carlson this season while also getting time on the power play.

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound defenseman's season will also determine whether or not he stays long-term, as he becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season but could end up as a core piece of the Capitals' future going forward.