NHL Rumors: Blue Jackets Nearly Sent Unhappy Chinakhov to Divisional Rival

Yegor Chinakhov wants a trade out of Columbus, and was almost dealt to a divisional rival

We've all heard by now the Yegor Chinakhov's days as a Columbus Blue Jackets appear to be numbered. He has asked out, and the Jackets are willing to comply.

In fact, according to insider David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, they've already tried earlier this offseason, in an attempted trade with an intra-divisional rival:

The Blue Jackets tried to include Chinakhov in a package for defenseman Noah Dobson before the New York Islanders traded the blueliner to the Montreal Canadiens.

The deal would have been a big risk for the Islanders, who were already taking a chance to move on from the heralded young d-man, the 12th overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. But to have to face him so often within their own division? It's not surprising they went with the Canadiens' offer.

As for the Blue Jackets, the aforementioned trade idea certainly would have accomplished GM Don Waddell's goals in any Chinakhov move: improve the team materially now.

"I told (Chinakhov's agent Shumi Babaev), he has value," said Waddell. "I will talk to teams. I have talked to teams (as noted above). But I'm not just going to trade him because you said to trade him."

Waddell was surprised that the player and his agent went public with their trade request, one that the GM was obviously already working under when he tried to make the Dobson deal.

Chinakhov has plenty of potential to become a top-six player, but the 24-year-old had a rough season this year, dealing with injuries and consistency problems, and finishing with just seven goals and 15 points in 30 games, and wrapped up the year as a healthy scratch in 12 of the team's last 13 games.

In 2023-24, he flashed that promise he showed as a first-round pick in 2020, with a personal best 16-goals in just 53 games in 2023-24, when he started to show that promise. But again, injuries limited him.

According to Aaron Hedger of The Columbus Dispatch, Waddell is looking for an established NHL player in return.