Top Trades, Landing Spots for Senators Defenseman Jakob Chychrun Amid NHL Rumors
Nothing about the 2023-24 season has gone according to plan for the Ottawa Senators. It started with legitimate playoff hopes, but instead of gearing up for a second-half run at the postseason, they find themselves with the worst record in the Eastern Conference and in a position where they will most likely be sellers before the March 8 trade deadline.
Veteran forward Vladimir Tarasenko seems like a good bet to move, but there are also rumblings that defenseman Jakob Chychrun could also be had and that teams are making calls.
Chychrun is reportedly not sold on remaining in Ottawa long-term, and the Senators need a definite shake-up to a roster that has badly underachieved. He is still only 25 years old, plays a premium position and also has one full year remaining on his contract at just $4.6 million against the cap next season. Given all of that, along with his offensive production, and he represents the most valuable trade chip the Senators have.
Ottawa acquired him at last year's deadline from the Arizona Coyotes for three draft picks, including a first-round selection.
That sort of value is probably what the Senators would be looking to get back if they moved him.
So let's take a look at some teams that could be a good fit and a potential landing spot if the Senators decided to move him.
Toronto Maple Leafs
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The Maple Leafs' big four of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander are doing what they do and taking care of their business. But the rest of the team needs a spark. After years of calls for the Maple Leafs to improve their defense, that is legitimately what they need this season.
Injuries and ineffectiveness have decimated their blue line, and entering play on Saturday they were 24th in the NHL in expected goals against per 60 minutes during 5-on-5 play and 22nd in all situations.
They need help.
Chychrun would not only be an upgrade this season, but that extra year of team control would also be significant and take care of a cost-controlled next season when the Maple Leafs only have three defensemen currently under contract (Morgan Rielly, Jake McCabe and Conor Timmins).
The hurdle here would be Toronto's salary-cap situation, as well as getting these two divisional rivals to make an actual deal of consequence on the ice.
Most trades between the Senators and Maple Leafs fall under one of two categories—minor-league deals that are not going to impact the NHL roster, or salary-dump deals where everybody is getting rid of contracts they do not want.
This would be done with the intent of making one team—Toronto—significantly better in the short term. There might be a pretty significant "divisional rival tax" on that sort of transaction.
Pittsburgh Penguins
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The Penguins are not comfortably in a playoff spot by any means, and there is even some discussion that they might be sellers with Jake Guentzel approaching unrestricted free agency.
That still seems hard to believe, and as long as Sidney Crosby is playing at his current level and as long as they have a legitimate shot to make the playoffs—and they do—it seems far more likely they add than sell.
If they do add, Chychrun is the exact type of player they should be looking for—still in his prime, under team control for another year and also filling a significant need.
The Penguins have seen a lot of meaningful improvement in some important areas. Their bottom-six still lacks offense, but they defend extremely well and the Penguins are one of the best 5-on-5 teams in the NHL by pretty much every objective measure. They have also received a huge boost in their goaltending performance with Tristan Jarry playing great and Alex Nedeljkovic giving them a capable backup that has exceeded expectations.
Their biggest need might be more help on defense. Kris Letang, Erik Karlsson and Marcus Pettersson have all been strong in their top-four roles (at least as it relates to 5-on-5 play), but they need more depth beyond them, especially on the left side.
Veteran Ryan Graves has not been what they hoped, and he is looking like a big swing-and-a-miss by the Kyle Dubas front office. Pierre-Olivier Joseph has not taken a step forward, while players like Chad Ruhwedel, John Ludvig and Ryan Shea are nothing more than depth pieces. Chychrun would give them a strong partner on the left side for Letang while allowing them to keep Karlsson and Pettersson together on a second pairing.
Head coach Mike Sullivan pushed hard for the Penguins to acquire Chychrun at last year's deadline, but former general manager Ron Hextall decided to go in a very different (read: much worse) direction. Maybe he can have more luck convincing Dubas.
Detroit Red Wings
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The Red Wings' offense has progressed to the point where it is playoff caliber, and they can score as well as any team in the league.
What they don't do is defend.
They entered the weekend fifth in the league in goals per game, but near the bottom of the league in pretty much every major statistical category. They were 22nd in goals against, 25th in expected goals against per 60 minutes in all situations and 22nd during 5-on-5 play.
Goaltending has been a significant issue, and they could definitely use an upgrade in net, but the defense in front of their goaltenders just is not very inspiring. It's a bland group after Moritz Seider that is short on impact players, and even Seider has taken a step back from what we saw during his rookie season.
It is mostly a makeshift group pieced together by short-term veteran stop-gaps. They need more impact.
Chychrun's strengths might be more on the offensive side of the game, but he is a better defensive player than he often gets credit for, and the bottom line for the Red Wings is they just simply need better players on their blue line regardless of what their strengths are.
Detroit has missed the playoffs seven years in a row and has not won a playoff series in over a decade. They are far enough into the Steve Yzerman era that it is time to start becoming a serious contender for the playoffs. They are close. They are on the fringes. Chychrun could help close that gap both this season and next season. Yzerman has not been shy about making bold moves, and he might need to go for another one here.
Calgary Flames
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How about a swap of players that might need a fresh start and teams that just might need something different? Well, say hello to the Calgary Flames.
The Flames are trying to dig themselves out of an early season hole and get back into the playoff race in the Western Conference, but they also have some big questions on their defense beyond this season.
Noah Hanifan and Chris Tanev are both free agents after this season, and their long-term futures with the team are still very much up in the air.
Ottawa has reportedly had interest in Calgary's MacKenzie Weegar in the past, and as a primarily right-side defender, he would address a pretty big need. Ottawa's strength on defense is on the left side where Chychrun, Thomas Chabot and Jake Sanderson all naturally play.
Even if the Flames were not willing to do a swap involving Weegar, Chychrun would be a natural fit given his age and contract and the fact Calgary's future defense is so uncertain with the pending free agents on the roster.
New York Rangers
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Let's get wild here.
The Rangers are, by the standings, one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, and there is a lot to like about the roster they have. But it is also a very flawed roster—and has been for a couple of years now. It still needs some work, especially when it comes to its scoring depth and 5-on-5 play.
Most Rangers fans and observers would probably tell you that help on the wing and at forward is where their focus should be. And they do need that. But they could also use some help defensively.
Adam Fox is a star and one of the best all-around defenseman in hockey. Jacob Trouba is a big hitter, but his overall defensive impacts can be spotty. K'Andre Miller has big potential, but his play has seemingly regressed and he has not really taken the big step the Rangers have been hoping for him to take. As much they might like Ryan Lindgren, Fox could probably use a more impactful partner on his left side. The Fox-Lindren pairing was even (12-12) in 5-on-5 goal-scoring going into the weekend, with some really ugly underlying numbers.
Chychrun could help fix a lot of that.
As long as the Rangers are on the phone, why not try to get two birds with one stone and get that forward scoring depth on the wing and make it a blockbuster trade with Vladimir Tarasenko coming back to Madison Square Garden?
Making the salaries work would be the challenge (and it would be adding over $9.5 million in salary-cap dollars this season). But there are always ways around that from retained salary, to getting a third team involved, to sending another contract (or contracts) back the other way, etc. Would something centered around Miller be of interest to the Senators? Him being a natural left-handed shot probably wouldn't be ideal given the presence of Chabot and Sanderson, but his upside might still be intriguing. Would a change of scenery and a fresh start help him reach his potential?
Chychrun might not be the Rangers' most pressing need, but it is a need and could help fix two areas in one deal.
Data in this article via CapFriendly and Natural Stat Trick.
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