Chychrun becomes first in NHL to take this measure to increase contract value
Senators defenceman Jakob Chychrun is looking to become only NHL defensemen who can shoot on both sides - a fully ambidextrous player.
For the fourth consecutive year, Jakob Chychrun is back in trade related talks to try and find a new team. Every year Chychrun has spent in his current contract that he signed back with the Arizona Coyotes, he has been rumoured to be moved in some capacity.
Despite getting traded already to the Ottawa Senators, their poor performance and his great contract has kept him in on the trading block. Chychrun has made an odd offseason adjustment this year in hopes of raising both his trade value and the value of his upcoming contract.
Jakob Chychrun is a left side, left-handed defenseman but has always been able to play well on the right side too. It seems like he's taking it one step further and is actually learning how to shoot right-handed as well. This would be massive for his trade value, as teams that are jammed on the left side of their defense could now go out and acquire Chychrun to play on the right side as well.
An ambidextrous defenseman is not something we've seen before at the NHL level, and could be massive for Chychrun's next contract negotiation. The Senators say they'll provide any suitors with a video of Chychrun shooting right handed to prove that he can do so effectively.
Chychrun has been linked to many teams this offseason, with Philadelphia being an apparent front runner. The flyers want to get better with young guys and would be willing to move roster players and prospects out. Chychrun would already be perfect for them, but adding his possible ambidextrous talents would only make the return even sweeter.
If Chychrun could pull this off, this could be amazing for the defense market. You could see guys learning to shoot both ways to increase their value and getting plugged in anywhere on the lineup. It'll be interesting to see how this goes and see the tangible differences it'll bring both the Senators and Chychrun himself in terms of value.
| POLL | ||
Do you think this will work out for Chychrun and the Senators? | ||
| Yes, it'll make him more playable | 60 | 33.1 % |
| No, it's not something teams are looking for | 121 | 66.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
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