The Washington Capitals’ first big move at the start of NHL Free Agency wasn’t signing a player to a contract. Instead, Washington acquired defenseman Jakob Chychrun from the Ottawa Senators in a trade for Nick Jensen and a draft pick.
Chychrun, a player the Capitals have held interest in for a few years, has been part of many losing teams in the NHL since debuting with the Arizona Coyotes at 18 years old in 2016. The now 26-year-old blueliner has tasted playoff hockey just once, nine games with the Coyotes in 2020. He missed out on the postseason both years while with Ottawa.
“I guess you could say [my time in Ottawa was] shorter than I thought it would be,” Chychrun said Tuesday during his first post-trade media availability. “It’s just, I think, unfortunate, the way everything went when I was there. I felt I wasn’t playing my best hockey. I was a little bit frustrated with the way I was playing.”
The Senators, after a seemingly impressive offseason, flamed out during a tumultuous 2023-24 campaign. The team was sold to new owner Michael Andlauer in September, general manager Pierre Dorion was asked to step down in November, and head coach DJ Smith was fired in December.
“I think coaching change and ownership change was tough on a lot of the guys, just a lot of noise,” Chychrun said. “It seemed like a lot of distraction for our group, we never seemed to be able to all get on the same page and really take a step as a team together and make a push.”
Chychrun will join a Capitals club that has been a postseason regular since 2008. Washington snuck into the 2024 playoffs and has made a series of additions this summer to strengthen their roster.
“It seems like [Washington has] been very aggressive and it’s great to see I mean, obviously, they’re a group that wants to win and I’m just so excited,” Chychrun said. “I think they’ve done a great job of improving the team and I’m thrilled honestly. I think it’s a great fit for me personally and I’m just so excited to be able to help contribute to this team and try to take this team into the playoffs.”
Chychrun’s familiarity with several members of the Capitals’ roster and coaching staff is also helping fuel the rearguard’s excitement to get started in DC. One of the first names Chychurn mentioned that he was excited to reunite with was assistant coach Scott Allen who held the same role with the Coyotes for two seasons while Chychrun was breaking into the league.
“Scott, he was my D coach in Arizona, absolutely loved Scotty,” Chychrun said. “We had a great relationship and he’s someone that I really, really respect how hard of a worker he is, how well prepared he is, how much he cares about the guys, how much he cares about me. And just a great person and someone I’m just thrilled to be able to reconnect with and work with again.”
The former Coyotes connections don’t end there though as Dylan Strome, teammates with Chychrun for parts of three seasons in Arizona, is one of the Capitals’ primary point producers after reviving his career in DC the past two years. Chychrun says the two were roommates during his second and third years with the Coyotes.
But, Chychrun’s closest former association turned teammate in Washington comes via free agent pickup Brandon Duhaime. The two Florida-born NHLers have been close friends since they were children, growing up in the same area.
“I was on my phone with my agent after the GM of Ottawa called me and I was down by the lake here [when] from the top of the hill where the cottage is, I hear my mom. She starts screaming and then I turn around and look up and then she yelled, ‘Duey’ and Duey is Brandon Duhaime, he’s a close buddy of mine I grew up with in South Florida.
“I guess once the trade news came out, Duey was just signing with the Caps. So that was another thing that was just so cool how that played out. A couple of boys who grew up playing in South Florida together are now kind of reconnected at the NHL level and just something that’s another really cool thing. That was a nice surprise.”
Chychrun expects that already having so many familiar faces around him will help him get off to a good, fresh start with the Capitals.
“One hundred percent that helps tremendously,” Chychrun said. “I have a relationship with Taylor Raddysh as well, another guy who signed. I’m thrilled and can’t wait to continue to build on the relationships I have and start new ones with the guys who I haven’t met yet. I’ve heard nothing but great things about the group, so it’s going to be very special.”
Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan spoke about Chychrun’s potential fit with the team’s defense corps on Wednesday. MacLellan believes he could be a good match to partner with any of the team’s top-three, right-sided defenders, including John Carlson on the top pair.
“You could see Chychrun and [John Carlson], which I think would be a good pair,” MacLellan said. “You could see Chychrun and [Matt] Roy. You could see Chychrun and [Trevor van Riemsdyk]. I think they can move the left side around depending on what they want to accomplish matchup-wise.”
While Chychurn has already spoken with head coach Spencer Carbery, he says the two didn’t discuss much on-ice strategy. But, Chychrun still has a clear idea of what he wants to bring to the table in DC.
“I’m excited to bring [offense] to Washington and play with guys who I mean, we’ve got probably the greatest goal scorer of all time and a group that has scored a lot of goals in the past,” Chychrun said. “I guess they struggled last year a bit but it’s something that I don’t think should be an issue for this group. I’m excited to hopefully be able to add to that and I can’t wait to see what we can do and hopefully be able to contribute and personally and help this group in that aspect.”
Excluding Carlson, the Capitals got just eight goals combined from the rest of their defensemen. Chychurn scored 14 by himself last year and his previous career high is 18 markers, set with the Coyotes during the 2020-21 campaign. Among current Capitals blueliners, not even Carlson has scored 18 goals in a single season.
Carbery preached “pace” and playing fast at the start of last season but was clearly forced to adapt to a slower, defensively-leaning system once he realized the limitations of his roster. The addition of Chychrun’s high-tempo style will help the second-year bench boss get the team back to playing like he initially envisioned.
“I like to be a two-way defenseman, I can play in all zones, all situations on the ice,” Chychrun said. “I really love having the puck on my stick, skating with the puck, using my skating ability to defend hard, take away time and space from other teams’ top players, and be a guy that coaches can rely on.”
Chychurn has one year remaining on his contract at a $4.6 million cap hit. MacLellan mentioned the two sides would get a feel for each other this season before any contract extension talks.
