The Washington Capitals have been one of the biggest surprises through the early year. They sit with a 25-10-2 record through 37 games, good for the third-highest point percentage (70.3 percent) in the NHL. That success has been driven by the litany of new faces Washington acquired this summer, with defenseman Jakob Chychrun sat top among them. He’s quickly earned a top-pair role in Washington, proving to be a fantastic compliment for perennial Capitals star John Carlson. Chychrun leads the Capitals blue-line in scoring, even despite missing five games with injury. That momentum, backed by improved play in the defensive end, has the Capitals considering their long-term options.
Chychrun is in the final season of a six-year, $27.6MM contract signed with the Arizona Coyotes in the summer of 2019. He’s certainly outplayed his $4.6MM yearly cap hit, and could finally demand top-pair money on a new deal. But Washington isn’t deterred by that lofty raise shares Sammi Silber of The Hockey News, who points out that re-signing Chychrun will be a clear priority for the Capitals. Silber also pointed towards Chychrun telling Sportsnet’s Luke Fox that he envisions himself re-signing a long-term deal.
The extent of Chychrun’s improvement this year can’t be understated. He’s looked vastly improved outside of Arizona, last season posting a career-high 41 points in 82 games with the Ottawa Senators in what was his first full year outside of the desert. But he coupled that scoring with a measly -30 plus-minus and 2.79 xGA/60 (expected-goals against per-60), stats that ranked last and second-to-last on the Senators’ blue line respectively. Chychrun has quickly turned that around in Washington, upping his scoring to 25 points in 32 games coupled by a +17 plus-minus and 2.64 xGA/60. The Capitals as a team are far more sound defensively, but Chychrun has nonetheless proved a strong contributor and reasonable two-way option in his new top-pair role. He’s on pace to score 63 points through the end of the season, yet another career-high in scoring, and only seems to be heating up more with four points in three games to close out December.
Chychrun built a reputation for being all-offense, little-defense across seven years in Arizona. That might make his future hard to lean on, but the 26-year-old has looked complete in Washington and brings the team stability in the top-four that they haven’t had since trading away Dmitry Orlov. How those traits should be valued is a far different question. Brandon Montour and Brady Skjei each earned seven-year deals and cap hits north of $7MM in their moves to new teams this summer, while Jaccob Slavin signed an eight-year deal with a $6.396MM cap hit in Carolina. The Capitals even joined in on the summer buys, signing Matt Roy to a six-year deal with a $5.75MM cap hit to ultimately fill a role now behind Chychrun on the depth chart.
Given his boost of offense and improving defense, Chychrun likely sits somewhere between that quartet of defenders – setting Washington up for a max-term deal with an annual cost of at least $6.5MM. Luckily, the Capitals will be in a prime spot to take on that pay raise. They only have nine pending unrestricted free agents next summer, though that does include goaltenders Charlie Lindgren and Logan Thompson. Washington will have roughly $24.3MM in projected cap space to bring everyone back, per PuckPedia, leaving them just shy of $18MM should Chychrun demand market price.
The Capitals will have to think forward with their spending. Lineup pillars Alex Ovechkin, John Carlson, and Connor McMichael will all be due for their own extensions in the summer of 2026. But Chychrun’s impact through his first half in Washington has been too good to pass up. He’s proven a consistent scorer, capable of flowing next to Carlson or serving as the offensive bite next to defensive-minded partners like Trevor van Riemsdyk. He’s filled a notably missing piece, and the Capitals have returned to thriving now that they have it back. That will make Chychrun a player worth buying, especially with mutual interest already on the table.