Why trading Jakob Chychrun would make sense for the Ottawa Senators

Ottawa Senators defenseman Jakob Chychrun is no stranger to hearing his name involved in trade talks. The two-way defenseman was recently included among Frank Seravalli’s trade targets list and could very well be moved at some point during the 2024 offseason.

Chychrun, 26, is coming off a season where he appeared in all 82 games for the first time in his career and registered 41 points, good for first among Senators’ defensemen. He’s still loaded with upside and if he is indeed moved, the return to Ottawa could be significant.

Chychrun has one season left on his current contract at $4.6 million against the cap and does own a modified 10-team no-trade clause, so he will have some say in trade discussions this summer. Ottawa has a projected $12.4 million in available cap space this summer, however GM Steve Staios has Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot signed long term at a combined $16.05-million annual cap hit. Needless to say, the Senators are top-heavy and very expensive on the left side of their defense core, which is one of the many reasons Chychrun continues to be littered throughout trade boards.

On Friday’s episode of Daily Faceoff Live, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk chimed in with their thoughts on Chychrun’s future in Ottawa:

Tyler Yaremchuk: I want to start out in Ottawa, Jakob Chychrun, this guy, he might lead the league in time spent on the trade targets board since you’ve started doing it, what’s the situation there and why is Ottawa looking to move him and what’s the market gonna be like?

Frank Seravalli: Poor guy, right? I mean just constantly in the swirl of the trade targets board.

Tyler Yaremchuk: You’d imagine he’s numb to it by now?

Frank Seravalli: I guarantee you he is, like someone please call me when I’m actually on the move. And look, I think that’s still very likely to be the case in Ottawa, considering the spot that their in. They’ve got Chabot at $8-million bucks, Sanderson $8-million bucks, those two guys at $16 million on the left side of your defense, you now need to pay Jakob Chychrun. Who, by the way, has played better hockey in Ottawa than he was in Arizona.

So, he’s probably going to jump up to the $7.5-million range from $4.6 million. How do you pay $24 million dollars to one side of your blue line and have nothing on the other. That’s not proper team balance and from a pure asset perspective, really because of the way Chychrun plays, really what the Sens should explore is trying to move Chabot. But you’re dealing with Chabot as a distressed asset right now, because of his contract. No ones taking on that deal with that term.

For more on the Senators offseason plans, Frank’s trade targets and full coverage of the Stanley Cup Final, watch the full episode here: