The Washington Capitals and blue liner Jakob Chychrun have agreed to terms on an 8 year, $72M contract extension which will carry an AAV of $9M per season.
The new deal, which will kick in next season, will tie the defenceman to the club through the 2033 NHL campaign.
“Jakob is a proven, dynamic defenseman in the prime of his career who has established himself as one of the premier blue liners in the NHL,” general manager Chris Patrick said in announcing the contract. “His work ethic, skillset and ability to excel in all situations at both ends of the ice make him a valuable asset to our team. He is a perfect fit with our culture and vision for the future, and we couldn’t be more thrilled that he will continue to be part of our organization for the next eight years.”
Chychrun ranks 3rd in the NHL in goals this season for a defenceman with 18, trailing only Zach Werenski (20) and Cale Makar (26), while sitting second amongst blue liners in power play scoring with 5 goals to date. His +/- is tied for second best in the league alongside teammate John Carlson (+24) and just behind Thomas Harley (+27). The 26 year old currently has more goals than all other Capitals defenders combined.
“[Chychrun] is a different power-play quarterback than John,” head coach Spencer Carbery said Saturday. “John’s more cerebral, doesn’t move as much, finds shot tips, shot lanes: a distributor. That’s his bread and butter. Chicky’s more of a mobile guy that’s going to move laterally across the blue line and create advantageous situations with his feet and then can obviously shoot it with not as much a one-timer, but he’s more of a sifter guy — that wrist shot that he has.”
In his first season with the club since being acquired from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Nick Jensen and a 3rd round pick, Chychrun has fit in well in DC, and helped provide an offensive spark from the back end. Something the team was sorely missing last season.
The Florida native is now the 2nd highest paid player on the Capitals roster, trailing only Alexander Ovechkin, and is under contract for the longest term as well. Up next for the Caps is a Tuesday evening date with the Winnipeg Jets in a clash of two of the hottest teams in the league.
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.