The Ottawa Senators created quite an upset by winning the Jakob Chychrun derby on Wednesday.
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The Ottawa Senators created quite an upset by winning the Jakob Chychrun derby on Wednesday.
To get their hands on the talented defenseman, the “Sens” sent a conditional first-round pick in 2023, a conditional second-round pick in 2024 and a second-round pick in 2026 to the Arizona Coyotes.
The first-round selection is protected if the Ottawa team obtains one of the first five rounds of talks at the next National League auction. The second-round pick in 2024 is the one the Ottawa Senators obtained in the trade with the Washington Capitals involving Connor Brown. He will become a first-round pick if the Ottawa club reaches the Eastern Conference Finals in the upcoming playoffs.
“We had a few offers that included two first-round picks, but they would have been late. The selection [des Sénateurs] could prove to be a quality choice,” explained general manager Bill Armstrong, according to the NHL Network.
The architect of the Coyotes also revealed that he had had talks with the leaders of seven other formations of the Bettman circuit concerning Chychrun. He was pleased to have freed up space under the salary cap thanks to this transaction.
The 24-year-old full-back has been at the center of deal rumors for around a year and a half. The “Yotes” had also kept him out of their training since February 10. The hockey player has a valid agreement until the end of the 2024-2025 season and receives $4.6 million annually.
“In this era where the salary cap is everything, it can be very difficult to conclude transactions because several teams have to divest themselves of a contract each time they want to acquire a player, continued Armstrong. We are happy to be able to get out of this without withholding a portion of the contract [de Chychrun].»
In his career, the American has amassed 60 goals and 110 assists for 170 points in 373 games. Chychrun was selected with the 16th overall pick in the 2016 draft.
“Jakob was very professional throughout this process, which made everything easier,” concluded the Coyotes GM. The fact that he enjoyed so much success when he returned to the game [après sa blessure au poignet] was very important. On the other hand, we followed our plan to the letter and ignored outside noise to make sure he could play well.