Jakob Chychrun Is Free At Last, And The Ottawa Senators Are Officially On Wagon Watch
Jakob Chyrchun has been on the trading block since like the last Olympics. Pretty much every game this man has ever played in a 'Yotes sweater felt like it could have been his last. It wasn't a matter of if Jakob Chychrun would get traded out of Arizona, but when.
Turns out that when was about 72 hours too late. Because holy shit what a miss from Arizona on this return.
Mattias Ekholm went to Edmonton for a 1st round pick and Tyson Barrie. Rasmus Sandin went to Washington for a 1st round pick and Erik Gustafsson. Filip Hronek went to Vancouver for a 1st and 2nd round pick in 2023. So apparently the difference between Jakob Chychrun and Filip Hronek is…checks notes…a 2nd round pick in the 2026 draft.
No offense to Hronek, but he's no Jakob Chychrun.
Apparently the asking price for Chychrun at the beginning of February was two 1st round picks and a prospect. But the longer Arizona waited around, the less anybody gave a shit to make a deal. They ran themselves out of suitors. And now they're getting Ottawa's top-5 protected pick in this upcoming draft, a 2nd round pick in this draft, and then another 2nd round pick in a draft that the Coyotes might not even still be in Arizona for.
Credit to Ottawa, though. The patience paid off and now they get a huge addition to a roster that is playing some hard dick hockey for this last playoff push of the season. Two wins in a row against Detroit to jump them in the standings. Only 5 points behind Pittsburgh for the 2nd wild card spot. Pittsburgh was also in the mix for Chychrun, so they made sure to grab him before those bastards had a chance to make the deal.
The world deserves to see Brady Tkachuk playing playoff hockey. Guy is the definition of olde time hockey.
Best buds with Larkin off the ice. But on the ice? He'll rip his fucking face off his skull if he has to. Can you imagine this psychopath playing in a 7-game series? If that's how he treats his friends after playing 2 games in a row against them, just imagine what he'd do in a game 7 against some guy he doesn't even give a shit about. Sens in the playoffs are a must.
And adding Jakob Chychrun to that blueline is going to be huge for that. A ton of offensive upside. Not a liability in his own zone. He's a top 4 defenseman on any roster, and Ottawa didn't have to give up a single roster player or prospect to make it happen. Pierre Dorion has been having himself quite the 12 months here.