Even though the Philadelphia Flyers front office made it clear at the trade deadline they weren’t about to give up assets to make additions, there were short lived rumors that they threw their hat in the ring on soon-to-be 26-year-old left-handed defenseman Jakob Chychrun. He’s a veteran of 450 NHL games and has one year left on his current contract at a $4.6 million cap hit before reaching unrestricted free agent status during the 2025 offseason. So would it have made sense (or could make sense in the near future) for the Flyers to pursue Chychrun via trade?
Pros
He’s a top guy
The Senators are top heavy at LHD with Chychrun alongside Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot. In fact, all three lead the team in TOI with Chychrun clocking in at 22:40, which would currently be second on the Flyers behind only Travis Sanheim. He’s got 32 points in 67 games this season (which would be second among Flyers defenseman and eighth place on the whole team) including 12 powerplay points, which would lead the Flyers. He’s a natural LHD but has lined up on the right side in the past, a tactic John Tortorella is already using with Cam York and Sanheim. At at a reasonable 26 years old, that’s pretty much everything you could want to add to the Flyers defense.
The family ties
You really think the Flyers’ front office would make an addition if there wasn’t some kind of pandering angle they could attach to? His father Jeff Chychrun was drafted by the Flyers in 1984 and played 199 games for the team racking up a whopping 606 penalty minutes. He’s also the nephew of former Flyer Luke Richardson. “He’s a second generation Flyer whose father was a prime example of a Broad Street Bully” will be a hell of a headline to make the boomers comfortable with forward progress.
Cons
The injury history
In fairness to Chychrun, he has played every game during the 2023-24 season, and played all 56 games during the shortened 2020-21 campaign, but suited up for just 95 of a possible 246 games from 2021 to 2023 because of a barrage of injuries including the knee, ankle and hamstring. Even if he fits the bill and on the whole makes sense, does the Flyers defense really need another body prone to potentially missing half the campaign with injuries?
The cost & UFA status
If the Flyers are hesitant to give up assets in general, then doing so for a player who is an unrestricted free agent in 2025 without some kind of assurances that he will sign an extension is probably not going to happen. He may be willing to sign an extension upon being acquired, but if there’s even a doubt, the Flyers will probably eject themselves from the conversation entirely.
Conclusion
Chychrun is definitely a fascinating name and one the Flyers should have interest in, but man, the cons are strong on this one. the injury history alone is worrisome, especially for a team that seems to personify the “everything that can go wrong will” when it comes to players missing time. If Chychrun is the partner for Jamie Drysdale, they can be a tandem both on the ice and on IR.
But if they feel as though he’s past the flurry of injuries that were plaguing him, a minute munching lefty with some powerplay success is high on the priority list considering the uncertainty of high-end immediate defensive help and their blueline production being far too minimal.
Though there is an abundance of LHD on the roster (Sanheim, York, Seeler, Zamula with Andrae in the AHL) but Tortorella has been unafraid to play them on their off-side to mixed success. Chychrun has experience playing on the right side from his days in Arizona, so he could fit that mold well if either Sanheim or York falter on their unnatural side.
The Senators acquired Chychrun for three draft picks, a first and two seconds, before the 2023 trade deadline. At the 2024 deadline, is was noted the Senators were (kicking tires) on dealing him, but no potential return ever hit the rumor mill. So even though the player bounced back during the season, the pending UFA status will probably give most teams pause in sending a litany of assets to Ottawa in return. But the Flyers are overflowing with draft picks, have an entire prospect pipeline they refuse to utilize and a couple main roster players trapped in Tortorella’s doghouse that could serve as trade chips to land Chychrun. Though they could just wait until 2025 and attempt to sign him in free agency (provided he makes it that far) if they don’t want to surrender assets at all.
If the Flyers added Chychrun during the 2024 offseason, it’d easily be the biggest move the team has made in many, many years. Their blueline clearly needs some improvement and if Chychrun can stay healthy, which is a big “if” he’s the exact kind of player that they’re looking for. Is the risk worth the reward? Guess we’ll just have to wait and see if the Flyers reopen the lines of communication during the summer.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: ottawasun.com
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