Ottawa Senators Defenceman Tyler Kleven talks about being an everyday NHL defenceman When the Ottawa Senators traded Jakob Chychrun last summer, most people understood the reasons why. Chychrun will be an unrestricted free agent in 2025 and didn’t seem overly enthusiastic about signing long-term in Ottawa. But more than that, the Sens were out of balance. With Chychrun, Jake Sanderson, Thomas Chabot, and Erik Brannstrom, the Sens had a lot of depth at left-shot puck-moving defensemen. What they needed was more tenacity and physicality on the blue line. So, they traded from an area of strength to get what they needed. Brannstrom was allowed to walk, opening up room for Tyler Kleven’s ascension from Belleville. And Chychrun was traded to the Washington Capitals for Nick Jensen and a 2026 third-round pick. While Jensen doesn’t grab headlines, he does his job and has come as advertised – a solid defender who works his ass off. And with 10 points and almost zero power play time, Jensen is nipping at the club points lead among defencemen. 5 on 5 points Thomas Chabot - 11 points (13 total) Nick Jensen - 10 points (10 total) Jacob Bernard-Docker - 3 points (3 total) Jake Sanderson - 2 points (14 total) Artem Zub - 2 points (2 total) Tyler Kleven - 1 point (2 total) Travis Hamonic - 1 point (1 total) In Washington, Chychrun has 8 goals and 15 points in 20 games this season. 11 of those points are at even strength. He already more goals than Jensen had in the last two years combined with Washington. It’s also more goals than all seven Ottawa defensemen have scored this season combined. In fact, it’s twice as many. The Sens' blue line, as a group, has just four goals. That’s not to say the deal hasn’t been good for Ottawa. It was a trade they had to make and Jensen has not only been very good here, he's probably been their most consistent defenceman. It just reopens the discussion in some quarters about whether the Sens truly squeezed enough out of the trade market for a guy who's now a top-pairing D on a contender. Regardless, Chychrun is obviously thrilled with his new situation in Washington—or at least more enthusiastic than he was last spring in Ottawa. At the team's season-ending media availability, Postmedia's Tim Baines asked Chychrun if Ottawa was a place he wanted to play for the next several years, to which Chychrun answered, "It’s a tough question. I mean, I don’t know. I honestly haven’t thought about that." Now, fast forward five months, still without a new contract, and the tone is quite different. Sportsnet’s Luke Fox asked almost the same question [https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/jakob-chychrun-opens-up-about-senators-trade-long-term-fit-with-capitals/] this week: Could Chychrun see himself re-signing with his new home in the other capital? “For sure. I mean, that’s definitely a question that we love to get asked all the time,” Chychrun told Sportsnet with a smile, presumably working his usual dry sense of humor. "We’ve really loved everything about being here. From living in Virginia, playing in D.C., driving by the White House every day. Great neighborhoods. Tons of families, tons of kids." The best trades are the ones that improve both teams. Jensen was expensive, but, like Chychrun has in Washington, he’s been very good and provided a missing ingredient. But acquiring Chychrun, along with some other offseason changes, has been a bonanza for the Capitals. They went from being a team that barely snuck into the playoffs last season to being (by point percentage) the second-best team in the entire NHL right now.
