The Capitals announced yesterday that they’d re-signed Jakob Chychrun to an eight-year, $72 million contract extension and taking care of their last big pending UFA ahead of the final push for the playoffs. It’s a huge deal, and one that certainly has its supporters and its detractors.
So let’s break it down and look at this thing from both sides – is it a good deal or a bad one? Kicking things off with the negatives, because let’s be honest…that’s simultaneously the favorite and most frequent response to things like this.
Cons
First of all, it’s the sheer amount of money. $9 million a year, to be exact, which makes Chychrun the second-highest paid player on the Caps next season, behind only Alex Ovechkin. That’s a lot of money for a guy who has been up and down throughout his career, especially considering he’s going to make more than John Carlson…while simultaneously not being as good as Carlson (yet).
He’s also excelled in DC, in part, because Coach Carbery and his coaching staff have recognized that he’s better playing a more sheltered, offensively focused role. That’s a lot of money and term to spend on a player who may not be able to carry the bulk of the defensive load for the foreseeable future – and when he is asked to defend, things haven’t really gone in his favor, which is why some of the hockey stats folks? Not fans of the contract.
Capitals sign Jakob Chychrun to an eight-year mega-deal at $9M per year. Chychrun has had a great bounce-back season and $9M could be fine in a rising cap world if he can take over as the team's No. 1 d-man (especially on the PP). But at the moment, it does look really rich.
— dom 📈 (@domluszczyszyn.bsky.social) March 25, 2025 at 10:45 AM
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Jakob Chychrun (signed to an 8x9m extension by Washington) is an NHL defender whose impact is much, much less than you would expect from a person with an 8x9m contract.
— Micah McCurdy (@hockeyviz.com) March 25, 2025 at 10:45 AM
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Add in the fact that he’s struggled to stay healthy over the years (last year was the first time he played 82 games, let alone 70+ games) and his production has ebbed and flowed in that time, it’s certainly not a contract that is without risk.
Pros
There’s no question that Chychrun, like many other players the team has added under this coaching staff, has just clicked with the team. He fits in the style of game Carbery wants to play, he gets along well with his teammates, he’s already set a career high in points and tied his high in goals (with 11 games to go) and he’s on pace for his first 20+ goal season. 20-goal blueliners are hardly a dime a dozen; only Zach Werenski and Cale Makar, two bona fide Norris Trophy candidates, have more goals than Chychrun this season.
That’s the kind of offense that can make you overlook some of his defensive struggles – and it’s worth noting that knocks on defense are a) par for the course for offensive blueliners and b) similar to the kind of criticism leveled at a younger John Carlson (and we’ve seen how that has played out).
Yes, it’s a lot of money. But as a percentage of the salary cap, Chychrun’s $9 million AAV is equivalent to about 9% of the total cap starting next year, which isn’t nothing, but it’s a smaller percentage than Owen Power (who has seven goals this season) and less money than Seth Jones or Darnell Nurse. It’s hardly enough to severely limit the Caps’ flexibility going forward, given that they’ll have some big contracts coming off the books over the next two years.
Put another way, that 9% next season is equivalent to just under $8 million in the current salary cap situation ($88M), which is around Noah Hanifin/Devon Toews territory, perfectly suitable comps for someone like Chychrun. And as the cap continues to go up, that percentage will go down, making it all the more tolerable, especially for a team that has demonstrated a willingness to spend to the cap – wherever it is.
There’s also something to be said for familiarity and fit. Securing a known commodity has value in and of itself, especially in a UFA class of blueliners that isn’t exactly deep – so not only would the Caps be lucky to find another defenseman of the same caliber on the open market, but there’s no question Chychrun would command more on said market, as well. Hometown discount, woo!
That familiarity and fit have become trademarks of the Carbery Caps, and this group has been very good at getting the best out of players who have struggled elsewhere. That trend seems to have continued with Chychrun. Here’s Friend of the Rink Corey Sznajder on how the Caps have done this with big #6:
Three very different seasons for Chychrun but this season has been his most balanced. Caps have cleaned up a lot of his turnover issues but entry defense is the only major sore spot. One of the "busiest" defensemen in the league with how often he wants the puck in all three zones.
— Corey Sznajder (@allthreezones.bsky.social) March 25, 2025 at 1:51 PM
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Fellow FotR JFresh also sees the upside in the deal:
If the concern is term, Chychrun is still pretty young – he’ll be 27 in less than a week – which means this deal, if he stays in DC for the full term, takes him to 35 years old. Hardly geriatric, especially for someone as focused on fitness as Chychrun seems to be (as…odd…as some of his methods and preferences may seem at times).
And, should the contract end up not being so favorable for the Caps down the line, we’ve seen worse contracts move around the league year after year. Make friends with a team that has plenty of cap space and you’re home free.
What do you think about the deal? Talk it out below!