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8 NHL Trade Landing Spots for Yegor Chinakhov Amid Rumors
When we reach the late-July/early August part of the NHL offseason, things usually quiet down pretty hard. Fortunately for us this time around, Columbus Blue Jackets forward Yegor Chinakhov decided to spice things up.
Through his agent, Chinakhov made it known that things weren't working out between Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason and himself. In other words, it would be best if he found a new team to play for.
At 24 years old, Chinakhov is a player with some upside potential still left to be unearthed and his time in Columbus has shown some upside since he entered the NHL in 2021-2022. With 71 points in 175 games including 34 goals, the raw numbers are curious given his limited minutes, but his advanced numbers last season were very strong.
If that makes Chinakhov sound like a good buy-low candidate to you, then perhaps one of the teams we've picked out as a possible landing place for him might agree. We'll examine these teams and situations a little closer and see if there's a good fit to be found.
Buffalo Sabres
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When Yegor Chinakhov was drafted in the first round by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2020, their general manager at the time was Jarmo Kekäläinen and at the time, he saw a gifted offensive player with a lot of upside potential.
Kekäläinen is now a senior adviser to the Buffalo Sabres which puts Chinakhov firmly in the conversation to be acquired by them. The Sabres have had their eyes open for forward help all summer and have been heavily speculated in forward trade possibilities ever since they traded JJ Peterka to Utah.
Chinakhov fits the description for what the Sabres are looking for out of a forward (skill, speed, etc.) but if there's reason to pause, it's how Chinakhov and Evason didn't see eye to eye. Evason can be a tough coach to play for and Sabres coach Lindy Ruff is cut from the same cloth.
This isn't to say Chinakhov wouldn't be a fit with the Sabres with Ruff behind the bench, a lot of what he does would certainly help them out, but if he's looking for a coach that's maybe not as tough to deal with, maybe Buffalo isn't the right place, whether Kekäläinen is there or not.
Colorado Avalanche
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One doesn't necessarily have to worry about what's going on with the Colorado Avalanche, right? They've got Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Gabriel Landeskog, Martin Nečas, Brock Nelson, Devon Toews...there's a lot to really like about their entire lineup!
There is something a little interesting about their overall depth up front, though in that it raises maybe an extra question or two than it once did. They traded Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood to Columbus for Gavin Brindley and a pair of draft picks which freed up some cap space but weakened their lineup in general.
You have to wonder if they knew Yegor Chinakhov would be asking for a trade some weeks later if maybe that phone call with Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell would've gone a bit differently. You also wonder if maybe it's worth calling him back to find out if they can work out another deal.
Although the Avalanche added Brindley to the organization, he has one NHL game of experience that came after he signed with Columbus out of the University of Michigan. He had a tough first season in the AHL last year and he'll need more development to get a shot at some NHL time. The Avs also just acquired Danil Gushchin from San Jose for Oskar Olausson in a minor league swap. Gushchin's 18 career NHL games may give him more experience than Brindley, but it's still not a lot.
Adding Chinakhov would give Colorado an instantly NHL-ready player and his $2.1 million cap hit is not an issue. The Avs are Stanley Cup contenders and rely heavily on their top guys, but experienced depth can be a difference maker in the postseason. Going in against Dallas, Winnipeg, Vegas, Edmonton and everyone else in the West with lineup questions isn't a good plan.
Boston Bruins
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If the Bruins are going to get out of the Atlantic Division basement, they're going to need a lot of help to do that, especially up front. Adding Yegor Chinakhov would give them the depth they sorely need.
Boston added Viktor Arvidsson this summer to bolster their offense, but beyond David Pastrnak, Elias Lindholm and Morgan Geekie, they need a lot more. They're in need of a bounce back season from Casey Mittelstadt and a boost in offense from Pavel Zacha as well as hope their bottom six can do more than grind up opponents.
Adding a bit more skill in Chinakhov would at least provide someone capable of adding offense elsewhere in the lineup. The Bruins did a lot of work to add to their bottom six in free agency signing Tanner Jeannot, Sean Kuraly, Michael Eyissmont and Matej Blumel, but the kind of goal production you can expect from them is minimal.
Adding Chinakhov isn't a cure-all for what ails the Bruins, but he'd provide a more skilled option for their lineup than what they've got right now.
New Jersey Devils
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A team to keep a close eye on next season will be the New Jersey Devils and if they can add one more forward, like Yegor Chinakhov, our curiosities about them will be collectively piqued.
The Devils will have Jack Hughes and his surgically repaired shoulder back and they've already seen Luke Hughes take big steps on defense and a healthy Dougie Hamilton to go with the rest of their solid players up front like Nico Hischier, Timo Meier and Jesper Bratt make them formidable to everyone around the league. They've already added Connor Brown and Evgenii Dadonov so they've got a strong group of forwards.
But if there's a lesson the Devils learned from last season is that you can never have enough good players around. Injuries wrecked them last season and you can't help but wonder how differently things would've gone if they weren't decimated. Jacob Markström's brilliant goaltending in the playoffs against Carolina might've not gone in vain.
Adding Chinakhov to their crew on forward not only makes sense and would be a good fit, but it would also be smart business, too.
Pittsburgh Penguins
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We know things don't look ideal on paper for the Pittsburgh Penguins, but if they want to do right by Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, don't they owe it to at least bring in a guy like Yegor Chinakhov for the near future?
OK maybe that's a bit overblown, but when you look at the depth the Penguins lack up front and how they're still talking about potentially trading any one of (or all) of Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell and Erik Karlsson, adding Chinakhov in the face of all that at least would provide them an actual NHL player to work with. The Pens' situation isn't desperate, but it's already not looking great and training camp is still more than a month and a half away.
Heck, you could argue they could add Chinakhov and not trade any of those guys and it'll still be a dire situation (and it very well could be!) but it'll at least give their veteran players another younger vet to work with as opposed to make it a season-long learn-on-the-job training session for younger guys like Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen.
It's going to be a tough season in Pittsburgh but hey, at least the hope for Gavin McKenna will keep hope alive, right?
Nashville Predators
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The Nashville Predators' offseason this year has been quiet, especially compared to a year ago. Last summer's spending spree inspired thoughts of deep playoff runs to come, but they didn't happen, and they were buried in the standings.
A quiet summer this time around isn't helping inspire hope that things will change and the way the lineup looks on paper isn't doing much to alter that view. Adding Yegor Chinakhov to the mix would at least give them someone new to work with and an opportunity to shine.
The Predators scored the second fewest goals in the league a year ago, just four more than last place San Jose, and this summer they made two moves: traded for defenseman Nicolas Hague and signed defenseman Nick Perbix. Running it back up front with virtually the same group as last season (maybe rookie 2023 first-round pick Matthew Wood makes the team) doesn't inspire hope.
Adding Chinakhov to their forward mix would give them another player with skill (something they sorely need) and give them a fighting chance to better their league worst 8.8 percent shooting last year.
Vancouver Canucks
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Say whatever you will about the Canucks, they've got an interesting setup cooking for this season. Sure, they lost Pius Suter in free agency, but they brought back Brock Boeser and extended Conor Garland. They also added Evander Kane to give them a bit more grit and scoring up front and if Filip Chytil can return healthy, that's even better. They've got Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes to lead them, and Thatcher Demko is locked in at goalie.
That's a good start and a solid group to lead the way, but if you mix in Yegor Chinakhov to that group, they should be able to score a few more goals. It's an eclectic mix the Canucks are working with their lineup and new coach Adam Foote will have his work cut out for him to figure out what the identity will be.
For now, we know they'll have plenty of guys who can press the forecheck and be physical (Kane, Jake DeBrusk, Kiefer Sherwood) and they have plenty of defensemen who can move the puck up the ice (Hughes, Filip Hronek, Marcus Pettersson). Scorers? Elias Pettersson, Boeser, Garland and Kane are the ones. Adding Chinakhov to that mix broadens the lineup enough to give them a decent enough mix.
Can't hurt...right?
New York Islanders
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If there's a team in the Eastern Conference that could stand to use an influx of proven NHL talent, it's the Islanders and that's what makes them an ideal landing spot for Yegor Chinakhov.
Even though the Islanders' record isn't necessarily what landed them the No. 1 pick and Matthew Schaefer at the 2025 NHL Draft, the moves they've made the past six months or so have pared down their overall talent. Trading Brock Nelson to Colorado and Noah Dobson to Montréal stand out, and although they added Emil Heineman in the Dobson traded and signed Jonathan Drouin in free agency, the lineup is paper thin.
Finding a way to add Chinakhov to their forward group makes a ton of sense so they're not leaning heavily on inexperienced younger players...unless that's the plan for the season. Even if it was, adding a 24-year-old like Chinakhov would also make sense when planning for the immediate future. They need better depth, period, and he would provide it.
Surrounding Bo Horvat and Mat Barzal with better quality players when the competition in the Metropolitan Division outside of Carolina, Washington and New Jersey is questionable could make the difference between stealing a wild card spot or packing it in early again.
