The past 24 hours have been euphoric for fans of the Ottawa Senators. The team announced this week that defenseman Jakob Chychrun was (finally) acquired for draft picks. Now that we’ve had time to evaluate the trade as a whole, let’s assess what acquiring Chychrun means for the Ottawa Senators in 2023 and beyond.
Winning is on the horizon
Since the rebuild began in 2018, Sens fans have grown accustomed to focusing on the future. For years it seemed as though the Senators were at least a couple seasons away from being a playoff contender.
However, time has caught up to us, and the Senators are now finally ready to open their window to compete for (at least) the next 5 years. Much of the Senators core is made up of players entering their prime. 5/6 of their top six forwards are 25 or under and all 4 of their top defenseman are 27 or under. With many of these players already locked up long term, Chychrun fits nicely into the demographic as he prepares to turn 25 later this month.
Is the defense finally solved?
Arguably since 2007, the Sens haven’t had a strong defensive core. There were some great defensemen but it was usually carried by one player. The Methot-Karlsson pair carried the team for years, but the drop off beyond them was significant.
Thomas Chabot was the lone legitimate top 4 defenseman from 2018-2021, before being joined by Artem Zub. Then Jake Sanderson made his debut in 2022, and Jakob Chychrun was added to the mix in 2023. On paper, the Senators could roll out a top 4 of nicely slotted defensemen.
Chabot-Zub
Sanderson-Chychrun
Is there a big-name like Cale Makar or Adam Fox? Not necessarily. But it’s four capable defensemen that should work well as a cohesive unit. Chabot has the skating and is automatically a one man break out. Artem Zub, while not flashy, is a nice complementary piece that provides you consistency on both sides of the ice. Jake Sanderson is only 20 years old and shows exceptional defensive instincts that will only get better with time. And now Chychrun, who is a physical defenseman with a booming shot. There is a reason he had 18 goals in 56 games back in 2020-21. The Sens didn’t have a player with Chychruns’ shot from the point before acquiring him. If he plays his offside, you could see a lot of one timers from the right point.
Is there a downside to this trade?
In short, no. Ideally, you want all your draft picks so you can restock the cupboard for future use. Having players on entry level contracts is necessary, especially in a hard cap system. Chychrun is paid 4.6 million for two more years after this one. He will be a 27 year old defenseman heading into free agency in the summer of 2025. His contract right now is a steal, and he could almost double his cap hit on the open market today. But when summer 2025 rolls around, I wouldn’t be nervous about keeping this young Sens core together.
There’s still some work to do for Pierre Dorion, especially on the goaltending side of management. But barring injuries, the Senators seem set on their core for the future. Their top six is established, and acquiring Chychrun solidifies their top four blueliners.
After years of promises and preaching “patience” from the front office, the pieces are now in place. Let’s see how this young team blossoms into a playoff contender down the stretch.
-Damian Smith
Twitter: @Damian__Smith
Photo: Andrew nyr. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.