Will Jakob Chychrun have a place in the Ottawa Senators core group going forward?
Daily Faceoff: Tyler Yaremchuk and Frank Seravalli on the Ottawa Senators and if Jakob Chychrun will be a fit in their core group moving forward.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Yaremchuk: “Finally, out east Frank. The Ottawa Senators I mean, when we flashed up that wildcard graphic, they are nowhere to be seen. Currently sitting by points dead last in the east. Is that a front office that may be itching to do something?
Seravalli: “Yeah, there’s no question that the Sens have been active. I think really the key question that they’re trying to deliberate at this exact point in time is, who is going to be part of our key core moving forward? I don’t anticipate them moving out any young players.
Well, one player that’s generated a pretty significant amount of interest on the market is Jakob Chychrun. Now we know that it wasn’t all that long ago that he ended up arriving in Ottawa from Arizona. But when you take a look at the left side of their defense, yes, I know that Chychrun can play on the right side but he is still a left-shooting defenseman, you’ve got Thomas Chabot, making $8 million and Jake Sanderson making $8.05 million with a deal that kicks in next season. If you throw Chychrun in there on the left side, you’re talking about north of $20 million a year, nearly $21 million a year, on just the left side of your defense strikes me as a situation where they probably don’t have enough minutes to go around for everyone.
And if they’ve identified Chychrun as someone who, they haven’t yet, but if they identify Chychrun as someone that is not part of that core moving forward, it makes sense to have an engage in that conversation now and make a move as opposed to, you could do it in the summer as well, but two playoff runs with Jakob Chychrun at a pretty reasonable $4.6 (million) before whatever his next deal kicks in at.
He’s pretty happy in Ottawa. I think there’s been a lot of frustration this year with how this season has gone for everyone with this team carrying up the rear of the Atlantic Division. They haven’t met expectations and I think they’re ready to make some seismic moves. Chychrun could certainly be one of those guys that is part of that changeover as they try and get to where they want to get to
Yaremchuk: “Kind of put you on the spot with the follow-up, but it was in March of 2023 when the Sens gave up a first, a second, and another conditional second for him. Do you think they could get similar value?
Seravalli: “I think they could. I think with the way that Chychrun’s played to date. I think he’s been a lot better than he was in Arizona. I think he’s certainly been a lot steadier. I don’t see any reason why they couldn’t get that type of, not just future value, but also maybe a piece that they find more, more usable for what they’re trying to accomplish.
They want some more experience some vets, some, some pros which Jakob Chychrun has all those things even at the young age of 24 that he’s still at, but they’ve got some things to sort out there.