Kyle Dubas and the Pittsburgh Penguins have been full of surprises throughout the summer.
And - aside from the hypothetical day when some big trade news drops about Erik Karlsson, Rickard Rakell, or Bryan Rust - perhaps they'll have yet another one up their sleeve.
On Thursday, it was reported by agent Shumi Babaev that Columbus Blue Jackets right winger Yegor Chinakhov has requested a trade. The trade request, reportedly, comes as a result of "misunderstandings" with Blue Jackets' head caoch Dean Evason.
Chinakhov, 24, just finished his fourth NHL season with Columbus, registering seven goals and 15 points in 30 games. The intriguing young forward has the ability to put the puck in the net with his sniping ability, and his high hockey-IQ and excellent vision would pair well with both the veterans and the other young players in Pittsburgh's top-nine.
The biggest issue for Chinakhov throughout his NHL career up to this point has been his ability to stay healthy. Across four seasons, he has played in a total of only 175 games, and he has put up 34 goals and 71 points in that time. He was sidelined with a back injury that kept him out for most of last season and in 2023-24, which would be a reasonable concern for any GM or team interested in his services.
It was even a concern for his own GM in Don Waddell, who admitted that the winger struggled after his return last season - and was surprised that Babaev went public with the trade request.
“I’m surprised he went public,” Waddell said. “But I’m not surprised because we’ve talked about it. He got back [from injury] and didn’t play well, and [he and Evason] fell out of favor. I told [Babaev], 'He has value, I will talk to teams. I have talked to teams. But I’m not just going to trade him because you said to trade him'.”
Given all of this, is this a player worth taking a chance on if you're Dubas and the Penguins?
For the past several weeks, there have been rumors abound concerning the future of Penguins' winger Rust, who has generated a ton of interest on the trade market. Per a report from The Fourth Period on Tuesday, Rust has recently been linked to three teams: the Buffalo Sabres, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Columbus. We did discuss the idea of a Rust trade to Columbus involving Chinakhov a few weeks back, but with Chinakhov on the block, could it make even more sense now?
3 Trade Destinations For Penguins’ Winger Bryan Rust - And What The Return Should Look LikeAccording to many, Day One of free agency has been a bit of letdown.
It very well could.
With teams still poking around on Rust - and Chinakhov now in play - he could be the kind of player that pushes a deal over the finish line. If a hypothetical deal were to happen between Pittsburgh and Columbus involving Rust and Chinakhov, though, more would have to come back from Columbus in the deal.
Rust is a proven top-six scoring winger, having registered six consecutive 20-goal seasons, including a career-high 31 goals in 2024-25. Dubas has also reiterated on a few occasions that Rust will not come cheap and that he and the Penguins would have to be "blown away" in order to accept an offer for the 33-year-old veteran, who is a valuable piece of the puzzle both on the ice and in the locker room for the Penguins.
So - that being said - the starting point is, probably, a first-round pick for Rust. 2026 first-round picks are going to be valuable commodities in terms of trade value this season - especially fringe teams like Columbus - because the draft lottery happens to feature a generational talent in Gavin McKenna next season.
If Chinakhov is part of the deal, Pittsburgh may either need to accept a 2026 conditional first-round pick or a straight-up 2027 first-round pick. Pushing back the first-rounder could also, potentially, mean that the Penguins may be able to squeeze one more asset out of the Blue Jackets in this trade scenario - possibly a B-level prospect or another pick.
Is this the right price for Rust? Honestly, who knows. It was reported by Frank Seravalli on Thursday that the Penguins are still "asking for a ton" for both Rust and Rakell, who has also generated a high degree of interest on the trade market after a career year (35 goals, 70 points). It's fair to assume that any Rust trade proposals thrown out into existence are, likely, lacking something if the asking price is truly that high.
But if the Penguins are truly interested in getting younger and acquiring young talent given the chance, Chinakhov is probably the type of player to take a flier on. Although Chinakhov alone isn't enough for Rust, he did register 10 goals and 17 points in 32 games for Omsk Avangard of the KHL in 2020-21 as well as 27 goals and 69 points in 56 games for Omskie Yastreby of the MHL - Russia's top junior league - during his draft year in 2019-20.
The 21st overall pick of the Blue Jackets in the 2020 NHL Draft, Chinakhov has not quite met expectations yet in the NHL. But it's safe to say that the talent and the potential is there, and these higher-ceiling young players are the exact kinds of guys Dubas should be taking chances on.
Even if Rust isn't the player going to Columbus as part of a bigger package, the Penguins have more than enough assets at this point to expend a few and take a chance on a player in need of a change of scenery. At the very least, Dubas should be making some phone calls to Waddell.
NHL Trade Rumors: Penguins' Bryan Rust Linked To 3 TeamsPittsburgh Penguins forward Bryan Rust is one of the NHL's top trade candidates right now. With the Penguins retooling, the 33-year-old winger would have the potential to land them a significant return if they decided to trade him.
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