Chychrun trade latest proof of Senators’ desire for playoff return
Ottawa Senators players wanted General Manager Pierre Dorion to make a splash ahead of Friday’s 3:00 p.m. ET NHL trade deadline, much like their rabid if long-suffering fan base.
“I honestly think we’ve earned the right for Pierre to add a player by the deadline,” said Stürmer Derick Brassard said earlier this week.
Ask and you will receive.
In fact, the Senators landed one of the biggest names in the market on Wednesday by sending three draft picks to the Arizona Coyotes to the coveted defender Jacob Chychrun.
In doing so, Dorion and the Senators sent a message to the rest of the hockey world: They have reached the stage where they feel they can make a difference in the NHL in the short and long term.
Think about what you’ve been up to for the past eight months.
In five days, July 8-13, Ottawa acquired a gate wing Alex DeBrincat by the Chicago Blackhawks, goalie fetched Cam Talbot in a trade with the Minnesota Wild, then enlisted veteran forward Claude Giroux to a three-year, $19.5 million deal that Dorion described as “the icing on the cake.”
With that in mind, is the acquisition of Chychrun the icing on the cake?
It’s certainly an impressive addition to a stretch full of such for the senators.
“As a defender that we coveted, Jakob is tall and plays imposingly,” Dorion said in a statement released by the team. “He has excellent skills, defends hard and is highly qualified. He uses his heavy shot with accuracy and is effective at generating offense as a threat on the offensive blue line.”
Another plus: The 24-year-old, who is just entering the prime of his career, still has two years remaining from his six-year contract, signed on November 13, 2018, which came into effect at the start of the 2019/2020 season. Both TSN and ESPN reported that the deal has an average annual value of $4.6 million, which would be a very palatable price for a smooth-running defenseman who has 170 points (60 goals, 110 assists) in 373 NHL games has collected, all with the Coyotes.
The senators have been looking for a top defense attorney to do some of the work for Thomas Chabot, who has been the face of the Ottawa blue line for several years. Now Chychrun is stepping into the mix to form the core of a defense that Rookie also carries Jake Sandersonwhich seems to be improving with each passing week.
Dorion had recently stated that he did not want to give up any of the senators’ top candidates in order to improve now. In the end he didn’t have to.
Arizona received a conditional first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, a conditional second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, and a second-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
Heading back to the Coyotes this year are a conditional first-round pick, a conditional second-round pick in 2024 originally owned by the Washington Capitals, and Ottawa’s second-round pick in 2026.
The first round pick in 2023 is top 5 protected and becomes an unprotected pick in 2024. Should the Senators make the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals, the second-round pick will become a 2024 first-round pick protected in the top-10. Should this condition be met, it will become an unprotected first round in 2025.
[RELATED: 2022-23 NHL Trade Tracker]
Ottawa has not qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2017, when it lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals. After five years of accumulating draft picks and prospects, the Senators have been aggressive on the free agent market and trade fronts this offseason, raising expectations both within the organization and among their fan base.
To that end, Chychrun is the next step.
“I said at the end of the season we want to play meaningful games late [this season]and I think we’re a step closer to that,” Dorion said in July.
Give Dorion credit. After giving the lecture, the Senator’s GM walks the path.
Check out their core: Giroux, DeBrincat, Drake Batherson, Tim Stutzle, Josh Norris (hurt) u Brady Tkachuk at forward; Chabot, Chychrun and Sanderson on defense. There are still question marks, even in goal, but it’s an impressive core nonetheless.
Its a lot to do. The Senators (30-26-4) have 64 points, five behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Still, Brassard thinks they’re in a sufficiently competitive position to warrant some help in the trading market.
Apparently Dorion agreed. And then some.