NHL Trade Grades: Jakob Chychrun and Reilly Smith Deals

The NHL's main event on July 1 is free agency, but the trade market is active as well. Teams move bodies out in order to create room for different signings. Or maybe a general manager who saw his top target sign elsewhere looks at other teams' rosters to find that fit.

Two notable trades occurred Monday. The Washington Capitals landed a top defenseman from the Ottawa Senators in Jakob Chychrun, while the New York Rangers took their best stab at finding a right wing who could stabilize their top six for the first time in three years, acquiring one-time Stanley Cup winner Reilly Smith from the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Check out our analysis and grades for each team involved in these trades.

Washington Capitals

The Capitals are in a precarious spot. They made the playoffs last season, but it was a total fluke, and they were swiftly dumped in the first round. Their roster was bereft of talent. Alex Ovechkin is chasing Wayne Gretzky's goal record, but he's going to need some help around him.

Yet being only on the fringes of relevancy means that they are not in a position to be posturing as a win-now team. It's just not going to happen. The Caps need to get better, but they need to do so in a way that plays into a long-term vision. Or at least doesn't threaten one.

Jakob Chychrun hits both notes. The 26-year-old defenseman tallied 41 points last season despite not typically playing first-pairing minutes. And that was in an off year in Ottawa, where he didn't fit. Chychrun was a true goal producer in the offensive zone in Arizona, both via his shooting acumen as well as his general creation from the blue line.

When he's on his game, he is also great at quarterbacking play from the defensive end. He's not a true shutdown defenseman in terms of absorbing the toughest matchups, but he is a credible defender as well.

In the right situation, Chychrun has the makings of a top-pairing defensemen. That Washington managed to trade an aging depth defenseman and a middle-round pick for that caliber of player is shocking even if he was on the chopping block in Ottawa.

And Chychrun's age and contract status play well with Washington's current situation. If the Caps can be competitive this season and he plays well, they'll be able to extend him long-term. If not, they'll be able to move him at the trade deadline—likely for a compensation package better than the one they moved to Ottawa.

Grade: A

Ottawa Senators

I understand that Chychrun did not fit in Ottawa. And I understand that new general manager Steve Staios is not to blame for that miscalculation; Pierre Dorion traded what would be the 12th overall pick in 2022 plus two second-rounders in return for a left-handed defenseman who would sit behind Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot on the left side while the rest of the team had holes everywhere. There's a reason Dorion was fired, and now Staios has to clean up his mess.

It's difficult to believe that this was the best move available to the Senators. Nick Jensen had been a good No. 4 defenseman in the NHL but really struggled last season and will be 34 years old in September. His $4.05 million cap hit through 2026 might end up being a problem.

Even if Jensen proves serviceable in Ottawa, is an aging depth defenseman and a middle-round pick really all they could garner in return for a top-pairing defenseman in the prime of his career?

They aren't better for this trade in the short term or long term, nor did they receive any meaningful assets they could reinvest in the lineup.

Staios may have been handed a tough situation on the left side of his defense, but he still had an opportunity to turn it into a positive. He failed to do so here.

Grade: D

New York Rangers

The Rangers needed to add a top-six right wing, and their level of desperation meant that any impact player would serve the purpose. However, there were a few criteria for a candidate particularly suited to play alongside Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider.

First, he would need to be a play-driver. Kreider and Zibanejad are brilliant at capitalizing on their chances, and particularly off the rush. Too often the ice has been tilted against them.

Smith qualifies for the role. The one-time Stanley Cup champion is active in the defensive and neutral zones, serving as connective tissue for the flow of play as his team progresses play toward the offense end. He's a smooth fit for the team's tactics, which will need him to support in the defensive zone on breakouts while the speedy Kreider and Zibanejad shoot up the ice.

Second, he would need to be a playmaker. Kreider and Zibanejad are both goal scorers, with Kreider doing his work around the net while Zibanejad hangs higher for one-timers and snipes. This line needs someone who can find those two from the perimeter.

Again, Smith fits. Over the past two seasons, Smith's 26 primary assists at five on five place him in a tie for 67th among all NHL forwards.

That leads into maybe the most critical component to Smith's game, which is that he produces at five-on-five. The Rangers power play is great, and there are no openings on the top unit. If one ever does manifest, it's Alexis Lafreniére's to lose. Not all goals are created equal. The Rangers have special teams covered. They need someone who is comfortable getting it done at even strength.

Smith will give the Rangers 45-50 points, with most at even strength. He'll drive play, and his experience in the playoffs doesn't hurt, either.

The downside is that Smith is pretty good at a lot of things but not truly great at anything. He's 33 years old and rates at a B-level in most facets of the game. He's not a true first-line wing but can definitely play up the lineup.

And compared to some of the overpayments happening in free agency Monday, Smith's $3.75 million cap hit is well worth it now and expires in 2025. Of course, it also means the Rangers remain without an actual long-term solution to a right wing problem that they've been trying to patch over for four seasons.

Grade: B

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Smith acquisition from Vegas last summer was well-intentioned. It just didn't work out. He was not a fit in Pittsburgh and scored just 13 goals, with 27 assists, in 76 games last season.

Even if he were a fit, the Penguins are in no-man's land and will be in a battle to even make the playoffs. Smith is 33 and will be an unrestricted free agent next summer. They need to move non-essential older players for future pieces. Smith likely has more value now than he would have as a rental at the deadline.

The move makes sense for where the Penguins are as an organization and, while the trade to get Smith didn't work out as intended, they still come out ahead in value; they moved only a third-round pick to Vegas for Smith last summer.

What remains to be seen is how the Penguins plan to use any open cap space and draft pick accumulation to speed-run a rebuild in time to contend one last time during the Crosby era.

Grade: B