Devils Need to Target Chychrun for Defensive Help

Per Frank Seravalli, Jakob Chychrun isn't unavailable. If so, he could be the ideal trade target for the New Jersey Devils.

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I've made a lot of Noah Hanifin on this Substack over the last few weeks. He's a versatile puck-moving defenseman who fills a need for the New Jersey Devils on the left side of their blue line. With Jonas Siegenthaler out with a broken foot, there's even more of a need for defensive help. 

However, this post will mostly not be about Hanifin. While he'd still be a good fit for the Devils, let's talk about Jakob Chychrun. On Frank Seravalli's latest trade board for Daily Faceoff, he had Chychrun ranked tenth. 

Here's what Seravalli had to say about Chychrun possibly being available:

“The Sens have been one of the most active teams in the league in recent weeks as they examine who will be part of their core for the long haul. Multiple teams have inquired about Chychrun, acquired from Arizona just 10 months ago, and they haven’t been told that Chychrun is unavailable.”

Chychrun is under contract through next season at a cap hit of $4.5 million. While there are some concerns, he may be the ideal trade target for a Devils team looking to improve their defense. 

Chychrun Is More Than Just an Offensive Defenseman

The initial thought around Chychrun might be, "Well, the Ottawa Senators are having a terrible season, so his results must be lagging, too." But that is far from the case. 

Chychrun has seven goals and 25 points in 35 games — putting him on pace to finish with 16 goals and 56 points in 82 games. It's not just the counting totals that have been impressive with Chychrun, either. His underlying numbers have been fantastic, too. 

Chychrun's total expected goals above replacement (xGAR) of 10.1 ranks first among all Senators skaters. Though he has a reputation for being more of an offensive defenseman, he’s provided stout two-way play in 2023-24. His even-strength defense has been worth xGAR of 3.4, ranked first on the Senators. 

Sometimes, there can be a discrepancy between xGAR and actual GAR, but Chychrun's essentially line up with each other. His total GAR of 10.6 is nearly identical to his xGAR. That's a sign of a player providing proper value to his team. 

This isn't necessarily an outlier season for Chychrun, either. Before the trade to the Senators last season, he had accumulated a total GAR of 6.4 with the Arizona Coyotes. And if you thought he was just purely an offensive defenseman as I did, his defensive value has tracked well over the last three seasons: