NHL Trade Rumor: Yegor Chinakhov Projected to be Sent to Rebuilding Team

Yegor Chinakhov, Columbus Blue Jackets forward

Yegor Chinakhov has been looking for a new start since before the 2025-26 season even began, but Christmas has come and gone, and the disgruntled forward got nothing but coal in his stockings from the Columbus Blue Jackets. He's still in Raleigh.

And in the two games since the arrival of Mason Marchment in a trade, Chinakhov has played seven minutes in the first contest, and was a healthy scratch in the other (making way in the lineup for Miles Wood, and, of course, Marchment).

The fifth-year player remains a trade candidate, but the Blue Jackets were holding out for a 'hockey trade'—an NHL player to slot into the lineup—in return for the former first-rounder.

Insider Pierre LeBrun projected over the holiday that a move to the San Jose Sharks could be in the cards for Chinakhov... And the trade for Marchment may be the catalyst.

When teams called earlier this year, I don’t think Columbus wanted just a draft pick for Chinakhov. They wanted a player. But now that they’ve spent a second-round pick and a fourth-round pick on Marchment, they might be OK recouping a second-round pick for the 2020 No. 21 pick. It just so happens the Sharks have two second-round picks this year, their own and the Colorado Avalanche’s.

Chinakhov had a breakthrough season of sorts two years back, with 16 goals and 29 points in 53 games for the Jackets. Injuries derailed his season last year. But he's still only 24, and making a move to San Jose is a good match, says LeBrun.

"Given Chinakhov’s age, he fits San Jose’s young group. And he’s the kind of reclamation project that could turn into a player.

"Why not if you’re the Sharks?"

Two reasons the Sharks might not be interested, however, are the more pressing need of a defensive upgrade, plus the fact that they possess a very deep prospect pool of forwards. Clogging it up even more and surrendering (as LeBrun suggests) a second-round pick might not be the Sharks' preference at this point.

San Jose currently sits just two points out of a Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, entering play on Saturday. Despite a recent three-game losing streak, their rebuild seems to be taking some meaningful strides this season after finishing dead last in the NHL last year.