Senators GM addresses Jakob Chychrun trade rumors ahead of Mar. 8 deadline

By Abhishek Dilta

Modified Mar 07, 2024 07:40 GMT

Just like last year's trade deadline, Ottawa Senators defenseman Jakob Chychrun's name has once again been at the center of trade rumors ahead of the Mar. 8 deadline.

Chychrun joined the Senators last season after the Arizona Coyotes had traded him in exchange for multiple draft picks. The 25-year-old defenseman has two more years remaining in his deal and has a cap hit of $4.6 million.

He will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2024-25 season. Senators GM Steve Staios recently talked about Chychrun trade rumors and whether other teams have expressed interest in the defenseman.

Staios said that the Senators have a talented roster and that it's natural for other teams to inquire about players like Chychrun. While they may not be actively working on shopping Chychrun, Staios reckoned that teams would be interested in a player of his caliber (via The Hockey News):

"We're getting a lot of interest in all of our players, really," Staios said. "I mean, we have good players. At this time of the year, you feel for the players because their names are out there.

"But there's nothing that we're actively doing on Jakob Chychrun. But I've said this before. If I was on the other end of the line, I'd be certainly inquiring about a player of that calibre."

Chychrun has 31 points, through nine goals and 22 assists, in 60 games for the Senators this season.

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Philadelphia Flyers reportedly interested in Jakob Chychrun

The Philadelphia Flyers have been a busy team during this trade deadline. On Wednesday afternoon, they dealt defenseman Sean Walker to the Colorado Avalanche.

As part of the deal, the Flyers received a conditional first-round pick in the 2025 NHL draft and Ryan Johansen. According to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, the Flyers are one of the interested teams that have inquired with the Senators about Jakob Chychrun.

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman said on a recent episode of the "Jeff Merek" podcast that the Flyers could consider bringing a player like Chychrun on board to bolster their blue line (as per broadstreekhockey.com):

"There’s something interesting going on here, and I kind of wonder if Chychrun could be on Philadelphia’s radar,” Friedman said.

"One of his talking points for that was his father, Jeff, playing 199 games with the Flyers. He also believes that there are “people in the organization” that know him well.

The trade market has heated up in the past few days. With less than two days remaining before the Mar. 8 trade deadline, it remains to be seen what the future holds for Jakob Chychrun.