Senators' Jakob Chychrun Tied To Surprising Team

There has been all sorts of talk around the Ottawa Senators about a potential Jakob Chychrun trade this summer. The eight-year veteran defenseman has one season left on his six-year deal with a $4.6 million cap hit, and is unlikely to re-sign with the Sens for the long-term. The time is now for Ottawa for capitalize on getting some significant value back for the big blueliner.

Insider David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period has got one very surprising team to watch as a potential Chychrun destination.

One under-the-radar team I would look at right now is Chicago. The Blackhawks are looking to make a couple of additions this summer... I do believe that (they are) one of the teams that has been, or will be, poking around on Jakob Chychrun.

Pagnotta goes on to note that there are some "nice, nifty ties between Chychrun and Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson" — specifically, the Hawks' bench boss is Chychrun's uncle.

Chicago is definitely looking to add some proven talent this summer to expedite their rebuild, as they want to surround Connor Bedard with players who will help take him to the next stage in his career — winning.

Chychrun, the 26-year-old former first-round pick (#16 overall in the 2016 NHL Draft) tied his career high with 41 points this past season, notching 14 goals and a personal-best 27 assists, while blocking 154 shots — far and away tops in his career — and logging another huge workload at 22:23 ice time per night.