Capitals get Roy on 6-year contract, trade for Chychrun

The Washington Capitals added two defensemen Monday, signing Matt Roy to a six-year, $34.5 million contract and acquiring Jakob Chychrun in a trade with the Ottawa Senators.

The contract for Roy, who had 25 points (five goals, 20 assists) in 81 games with the Los Angeles Kings last season, has an average annual value of $5.75 milllion.

"Matt is a steady right-handed defenseman who plays important minutes against the opposition's top players and is extremely responsible in his own end," general manager Brian MacLellan. "We feel his addition will help strengthen our blueline for the next several years."

Roy has 106 points (82 goals, 106 assists) and a plus-67 rating in 369 regular-season games with the Kings. He was selected by the Kings in the third round (No. 67) of the 2015 NHL Draft.

“I think when I came in early on as a young guy, I just wanted to be a steady defenseman and try not to make too many mistakes and just play my position,” Roy said Tuesday. “I think as my confidence grew in myself and my teammates, I was able to just kind of step up a little bit and I wanted to produce more offensively, so I just wanted to pick my spots, find the holes to jump in. It’s great to have some offensive success, but I’ve always had the defensive mindset first.” 

To acquire Chychrun, the Capitals sent Nick Jensen and a third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft to Ottawa.

Chychrun matched his NHL best with 41 points (14 goals, 27 assists) in 82 games with the Senators last season. The defenseman also scored seven power-play goals and averaged 22:23 of ice time.

"Jakob is a 26-year-old offensive defenseman who has nearly 500 games of NHL experience," MacLellan said. "His unique skill set and experience will undoubtedly bolster our blueline, substantially increasing our offensive capabilities."

Chychrun is entering the final season of a six-year contract he signed with the Coyotes on Nov. 13, 2018.

“I really wasn’t hearing much or expecting much, although we had been talking about the possibility of [a trade],” Chychrun said Tuesday. And I really wasn’t thinking of Washington, so when it happened, it was a big of a shock. Then, my dad (former NHL defenseman Jeff Chychrun) was in Florida for the Panthers (Stanley Cup) parade. He works for the team a little bit, so he was there when it happened and I was able to call my dad and right away he mentioned a few things that got me very excited for Washington, some familiar faces, and it just seems like such a great fit. 

“It ended up being a very, very great day. It was a little bit bittersweet for some family who I have in Ottawa here. I know my grandpa seemed very sad and upset, which hurt me a little bit. But then he got very got excited for me when he saw how happy and excited I was, so it was great. I was really, really nice, a great day when it happened.”

Selected by the Arizona Coyotes in the first round (No. 16) of the 2016 NHL Draft, he has 216 points (76 goals, 140 assists) in 467 regular-season games with the Coyotes and Senators, and one goal in nine Stanley Cup Playoff games.

It's the fourth significant offseason trade the Capitals have made. They acquired forward Pierre-Luc Dubois from the Los Angeles Kings for goalie Darcy Kuemper on June 19, forward Andrew Mangiapane from the Calgary Flames for a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft on June 27, and goalie Logan Thompson from the Vegas Golden Knights for third-round picks in the 2024 and 2025 NHL Drafts, on June 29.

“It’s huge,” Roy said. “Every player wants to win, and you want to go to a winning team. That was part of my mindset coming into it, and I thought Washington was checking all the boxes and making some good moves towards that.”

The Capitals also signed forward Brandon Duhaime to a two-year, $3.7 million contract ($1.85 million AAV). The 27-year-old had 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 80 games with the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche last season, including five points (one goal, four assists) in 18 games with the Avalanche after being acquired in a trade March 7.

He scored one goal in 11 playoff games.

Duhaime was drafted by the Wild in the fourth round (No. 106) of the 2016 NHL Draft. He has 40 points (20 goals, 20 assists) in 211 regular-season games with the Wild and Avalanche and one goal in 23 playoff games.

Jensen had 14 points (one goal, 13 assists) and averaged 19:38 of ice time in 78 regular-season games for the Capitals. He played in one game for Washington in its four-game loss to the New York Rangers in the first round of the playoffs.

The 33-year-old has two seasons remaining on the three-year, $12.15 million contract ($4.05 million average annual value) he signed Feb. 28, 2023.

Selected by the Detroit Red Wings in the fifth round (No. 150) of the 2009 NHL Draft, Jensen has 134 points (19 goals, 115 assists) in 562 regular-season games with the Red Wings and Capitals and does not have a point in 23 postseason games.

NHL.com staff writer Tom Gulitti contributed to this report