Former Caps GM Brian MacLellan stole Jakob Chychrun away from the Ottwa a little more than a year after the Senators gave up three draft picks to acquire him from Arizone. The Caps made yet another shrewd trade to up grade their blueline by adding a throwback to the days of Scott Stevens and Larry Murphy, and could help usher a new era.
When asked if he had tried to trade for Jakob Chychrun before they finally pulled off a deal with Ottawa, Washington Capitals then-GM Brian MacLellan answered, “We’ve been in on him a few times.” Chychrun’s name had been tumbling around the rumor mill for the past few years before he ended up with the Senators last year. Which is why it was a bit surprising that he was traded to the Caps one season later.
Like the deal he made for Pierre-Luc Dubois, the move fit a growing pattern over the summer as the Caps retooled their roster, adding skill, youth, and size while giving up only one draft pick, a third rounder that went to Ottawa along with 33-year-old Nick Jensen for the young blueliner. Mac targeted a team that may have been suffering from a bit of buyer’s remorse. GMBM had done it again, acquired a younger player by giving up an older veteran without giving up valuable draft picks or promising prospects. GMBM was sticking to his plan to reboot the team’s roster and avoid the dreaded rebuild. Chychrun was another vital piece in that plan and a buildling bloack for the future.
Jakob Chychrun was drafted in the third round of the 2016 draft, making the team out of training camp that year. He toiled away in Phoenix with the troubled Coyotes franchise (since relocated to Salt Lake City and named the Utah Hockey Club, until further notice) for six-and-a-half years before he was finally traded to Ottawa in March 2023, who gave up a first-round pick and second rounders.
Chychrun went on to tie a career 41 points and played a full 82 games last season for the first time in his career. That’s what made the trade to Washington so surprising. Nothing against Nick Jensen, who was a solid player over the past five-plus seasons in DC, but trading a 33-year-old declining defenseman and a 3rd rounder in 2026 for Chychrun, a 26-year-old potential top pair blueliner is highway robbery.
Chychrun is a call back to the Caps defensemen I grew up watching in the eighties, when Scott Stevens, Kevin Hatcher, Al Iafrate, and Larry Murphy were manning the blueline at the Cap Centre. Chychrun is six-foot-two, 220 pounds, a lefthanded shooting defenseman who skates well, eats up minutes, and can play on the powerplay. He isn’t afraid to throw his body around and plays a physical game that’s tough to play against. Durability could be an issue since last year was the first time Chychrun played full 82 games. He also has some defensive breakdowns that can lead to odd man rushes, but as an offensive minded defenseman who likes to jump up into the play that comes with the territory and is something that Spencer Carberry and his staff will work on.
Chychrun’s cap hit is $4.6 million, which is $540,000 more than Nick Jensen. However, Jensen has three more years on his deal, whereas Chychrun has just one. The Capitals and Chychrun will let the season play out a bit before there is talk of an extension so there is the risk he walks at the end on the season, but then the Caps will have that cap space to use to find a replacement. But I doubt it will go that far. Chychrun knows a few people in DC, like skills coach Scott Allen who was Jakob’s D-coach in Arizona, as well as Brandon Duhmaine, who grew up playing hockey with Chychrun in South Florida. During his ZOOM call with reporters on July 2nd, Chychrun made it clear what he thought about the move. “I’m thrilled and I think it’s a great fit for me personally.”
The Capitals put the Metropolitan Division on notice when they made this deal. They stated that they will remain relevant and hard to play against as Ovi chases Gretzky’s career goals record. Washington’s other off-season additions like Matt Roy, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Logan Thompson should make the 2024-25 Capitals the best team Chychrun has played on in his career. The fact the Caps got him for far less than he was worth just over a year ago is a flippin’ coup. It was another in a series of some shrewd moves this summer by Brian MacLellan that addressed a need and could lead to a contract extension sooner than later, keeping a stud D-man wearing number 6 on the blueline for the long-term.
