The Columbus Blue Jackets traded Yegor Chinakhov after the player asked for a move last summer.
Columbus sent the right wing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Danton Heinen, a 2026 second-round pick and a 2027 third-round pick.
Chinakhov, 24, has three goals and three assists for six points in 29 games this season. He’s averaging a career-low 10:18 of ice time after recording 15 points and 15:43 of average ice time in 30 games last season.
Last summer, Chinakhov’s agent, Shumi Babaev, went public with the 2020 first-round pick’s trade request. He reportedly had a misunderstanding with coach Dean Evason and wanted to stay in the NHL rather than return to Russia to play in the KHL.
Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell told The Athletic at the time that he wasn’t going to trade the player just because the agent said to. The value had to be right.
It appears that time has come.
The Penguins are 12th in the Eastern Conference, losing eight of their last 10 games and dealing with injuries to Evgeni Malkin and Filip Hallander.
The Blue Jackets, meanwhile, are 16th in the East but acquired left wing Mason Marchment from the Seattle Kraken before the holiday trade freeze. Marchment already has four points in three games with Columbus since the trade.
Chinakhov posted a career-high 16 goals and 29 points in 53 games with Columbus in 2023-24. Pittsburgh will hope he can return to at least that scoring pace.
The Penguins have already brought out bounceback or breakout performances out of some of their additions. Anthony Mantha has 12 goals and 25 points in 37 games after recording 17 points in 31 games last season. Justin Brazeau has 11 goals and 18 points in 23 games, approaching his career high of 22 points already. And after posting 22 points in 54 games last season, Thomas Novak has 18 points in 37 games this year.
Heinen, meanwhile, has a goal and two points in 13 games. He also has 17 points in 12 games for the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Pittsburgh’s next game is Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET.
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