The Boston Bruins' early-season struggles have made Pavel Zacha the subject of trade speculation, while Yegor Chinakhov of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Nick Robertson of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Brennan Othmann of the New York Rangers remain fixtures in the rumor mill.
Trade rumors have swirled about Pavel Zacha since the off-season.
Teams in the market for a second-line center, such as the Calgary Flames and Montreal Canadiens, were said to have an interest in the versatile 28-year-old Boston Bruins forward.
On Saturday, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported the Vancouver Canucks recently made inquiries about Zacha. The Canucks are still trying to find a suitable replacement for J.T. Miller, who was traded in January to the New York Rangers. Injuries to Filip Chytil and Teddy Blueger have further weakened their center depth.
Zacha is signed through 2026-27 with an average annual value of $4.75 million and an eight-team no-trade list. However, Friedman said the Canucks believe they're not on that list.
The Bruins hoped to rebound from their poor performance in 2024-25. They're off to a poor start but aren't in any hurry to trade Zacha or anyone else at this point. The Bruins have plenty of time to right the ship, and those efforts would be hampered by trading one of their best forwards.
Zacha could become available if the Bruins are still struggling when the calendar flips to January. For now, he's probably not going anywhere.
Meanwhile, Yegor Chinakhov continues to surface in the rumor mill. The 24-year-old Columbus Blue Jackets forward hasn't rescinded the trade request he made in July.
TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported last week that teams were calling the Blue Jackets about Chinakov, who played just five games this season, mostly on the fourth line. He indicated that the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Buffalo Sabres and Calgary Flames were among the teams to have called or expected to do so.
In his column for The Athletic, LeBrun also noted that Maple Leafs left winger Nick Robertson and Brennan Othmann of the Rangers were also out there in the trade market. He wondered if the three clubs could help each other out at some point during this season.
Friedman reported Saturday that the Maple Leafs were exploring options for Robertson, and made a pitch for Chinakhov this summer, but it wasn't to the Blue Jackets' liking.
Friedman's colleague, Luke Fox, noted the Chicago Blackhawks got a fourth-round pick from the Canucks in return for Lukas Reichel last week. He believes that sets the market for Chinakhov and Robertson.
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