The Washington Capitals re-signed Jakob Chychrun to an eight-year contract at $9 million per season, the team announced on Tuesday.
Chychrun, 26, nearly doubles his current $4.6-million cap hit with what will be the longest contract of his career. The extension and his improvement on the scoresheet come almost nine months after the Capitals acquired him from the Ottawa Senators.
"Jakob is a proven, dynamic defenseman in the prime of his career who has established himself as one of the premier blueliners in the NHL," Capitals GM Chris Patrick said in a press release. “He is a perfect fit with our culture and vision for the future, and we couldn't be more thrilled that he will continue to be part of our organization for the next eight years."
Washington traded defenseman Nick Jensen and a 2026 third-round pick to the Senators for Chychrun last July 1.
Jensen is more defensive-minded than Chychrun, although he also has fast puck-moving ability as a right-hand shot for the Senators. The 34-year-old has 19 points in 60 games.
Chychrun, however, almost has as many goals as Jensen does points.
In 65 games for Washington, Chychrun has 18 goals and a career-high 43 points this campaign. He’s third in the NHL in goals among D-men, sitting behind the Columbus Blue Jackets’ Zach Werenski (20) and Colorado Avalanche star Cale Makar (26).
While the plus-minus rating never tells the full story, Chychrun’s plus-24 rating is by far the highest of his career, and he has a 52.15-percent Corsi-for percentage at 5-on-5, meaning the Capitals generate more chances-for than against when he’s on the ice. Only John Carlson’s 53.72-percent share is higher among Capitals defensemen.
Washington’s coaching staff has allowed Chychrun to focus more on the offensive side of his game rather than defense by pairing him with defensive defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk – and it’s worked for the team overall, considering its 2.54 goals against per game is the third-lowest in the NHL. Chychrun has started almost 61 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone at 5-on-5, compared to 49.84 percent with the Senators last season and 50.20 percent in 2022-23 between the Sens and Arizona Coyotes, according to naturalstattrick.com.
Jakob Chychrun On What Went Wrong For Him With The Ottawa Senators Last Year: 'I Don't Know, I Didn't Trade Myself'Chychrun returned to Ottawa this week as the top-scoring defenceman on the top team in the NHL and reflected on his time with the Senators.
The blueliner was one of the many new faces the Capitals added in the off-season, including Matt Roy on defense, Logan Thompson in net and Pierre-Luc Dubois at center. With their help, Washington leads the NHL by two points and has a game in hand over the second-place Winnipeg Jets.
Chychrun has 532 NHL games under his belt and is now under contract through the 2032-33 campaign. The Capitals were the first NHL team this season to clinch a playoff berth last Friday, which means Chychrun could appear in the post-season for just the second time in his career. He played nine games between a play-in round and the Western Conference quarterfinal with the Coyotes in the 2019-20 bubble playoffs, recording a goal in nine games.
- Jonathan Tovell contributed to this report.
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