Daily Faceoff: Frank Seravalli on the speculation around Ottawa Senators defenseman Jakob Chychrun.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Seravalli: “Well I think really it’s just a logjam, positionally. You’ve got (Thomas) Chabot making 8 million bucks, left-handed shot. (Jake) Sanderson, defenseman of the future also making 8 million bucks in the next year. And he’s, like I look at Sanderson, I’m saying this is a guy that is going to be in the Norris trophy conversation in a couple years. Obviously, you’re not moving him.
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It comes down to then Chychrun, another left-shot defenseman. That, do you really want to spend 24 million bucks next season on just the left side of your defense? And then more than that, what about the future contract extension for Chychrun?
Like that’s a conversation that needs to be had this summer. He’s in line for a pretty significant race. And he’s played way better in Ottawa than he did at the tail end in Arizona. So he’s a commodity that is going to cost more and has real significant value now.
It’s more or less just heading off that conversation of, who are we keeping as part of our core? And that’s really the tough part that Steve Staios, Dave Poulin and, and Ryan Bowness have to sort through right now. Who’s part of this team moving forward?
Look at this cap structure, (Tim) Stutzle, (Brady) Tkachuck, Sanderson, Chabot, (Josh) Norris. I mean, they’ve got some interesting decisions to make. You can’t have all these guys making 8 million plus and then chuck in a new contract for Chychrun at seven-something.
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So they’ve got choices, and it just feels, math-wise, like Chychrun is the most likely to go for all the reasons that we just mentioned. So nothing guaranteed to happen, but that’s the one that sort of really makes sense and stands out.”