The Columbus Blue Jackets won't trade right winger Yegor Chinakhov just because he made his request public, GM Don Waddell said on Thursday.
In an interview with Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, Waddell said he was surprised that Chinakhov's agent, Shumi Babaev, went public with the 2020 first-rounder's trade request on Thursday.
Babaev wrote on X that Chinakhov had some misunderstandings with Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason during the season, and he would be glad to have a trade. He added that as long as Chinakhov can play in the NHL, he won't return to Russia to play in the KHL.
But Waddell said he wasn't surprised about the request itself because it's already been discussed.
“I told (Babaev), he has value,” Waddell told The Athletic. “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.”
In an interview with Russian-language publication sport-express.net, Chinakhov discussed playing only 30 games this past season due to a back injury, which he said is no longer bothering him after undergoing an operation in Moscow earlier this year.
He said that upon returning in March, the coach told him not to worry about mistakes. Chinakhov said he didn't make many mistakes, but he then became a frequent healthy scratch at the end of March. He only played one of the Blue Jackets' final 13 games.
Columbus was in the Eastern Conference's first wild-card spot, two points ahead of a two-way tie for the final playoff spot, when Chinakhov returned on March 4. The team lost the lead and fell two points behind the second wild-card spot at the end of the month. They stayed in the playoff battle right up until the end, finishing two points out.
In the nine games Chinakhov played after returning to the lineup, he recorded one assist, a team-worst minus-8 rating and an average ice time of 12:42.
“When he came back, he was not the Chinakhov we were hoping he was, and he got healthy scratched at the end (of the season),” Waddell said. “That’s what happens with guys. He couldn’t handle that.”
Chinakhov finished the campaign with seven goals and eight assists for 15 points. He's played four seasons with the Blue Jackets after they drafted him 21st overall in 2020. He appeared in a career-high 62 games in his rookie year and recorded a career-high 16 goals and 29 points in 53 games in 2023-24.
Waddell said the public request won't change the process. If the team doesn't trade him by training camp, Waddell expects "100 percent" that Chinakhov will be at training camp.
“I have to have the right value,” Waddell said. “It depends on how many teams are interested and what teams are willing to pay.”
In later posts to X, Babaev wrote that Chinakhov's opinion is most important to him, but they are aware he has one year left on his contract at a $2.1-million cap hit, and he will continue to give "120 percent in fulfilling his responsibilities." Babaev also said he's grateful to the Blue Jackets' leadership for their co-operation and understanding.
Chinakhov's top shot speed of 96.31 miles per hour this past sesaon ranked in the 97th percentile of the league, while his top skating speed of 23.06 mph fell in the 86th percentile, according to NHL Edge data. Despite missing more than half the season, he had 14 speed bursts of 22 mph or faster, which ranked in the 94th percentile. His 39 shots of between 80 and 90 mph ranked in the 94th percentile as well, while his four shots of between 90 and 100 mph sat in the 95th percentile.
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