Is Chinakhov on the Penguins’ Radar (and Can We Get Him)?

Hey all. Forgive my absence from “the Poop” the past couple of days. On Thursday, I took an unscheduled trip to the ER due to a weird condition that spiked my blood pressure something fierce. While I’m not totally out of the woods just yet, I’m on the road to recovery.

Too, as we enter the mid-summer doldrums where hockey activity slows to a snail’s pace, I’ve had a dearth of ideas.

Anyway, enough lead-in ramble. Prior to my impromptu visit to the ER, fellow Pooper Caleb Di’Natale texted me rather excitedly with the news that Blue Jackets’ forward Yegor Chinakhov wants out of Columbus.

I was just as excited upon hearing of it, albeit due to a case of mistaken identity. You see, I got Chinakhov confused with fellow Russian Kirill Marchenko, a CBJ forward of similar age (24) and pedigree who enjoyed a breakout 31-goal, 74-point campaign in 2024-25.

As for Chinakhov? He tallied a not-nearly-as-impressive seven goals and 15 points in 30 games, which dampened my initial enthusiasm.

Still, the former 21^st overall pick could be an intriguing add. Over the past two seasons, both interrupted by injury, the left-handed shooting winger notched 23 goals and 44 points in 83 games. Decent output to say the least.

Taking a deeper dive, Chinakhov’s metrics this season were solidly and uniformly on the sunny side of 50 percent. His JFresh WAR chart certainly indicates a player of promise.

Here’s what Elite Prospects had to say about the Omsk, Russia, native in their 2020 Draft Guide:

Chinakov’s offensive impact is impressive. He moves the puck quickly, supports the play well, and seems very aware of his options. His puck skills are high-end; he makes body fakes and quick cuts to force defenders to move their feet and open space. He consistently read opposing breakouts to intercept pucks.

At first blush, sounds a lot like my impression of Ville Koivunen, who dazzled during an eight-game cameo with the Penguins this spring.

As much as I can gather, the knock on Chinakhov is inconsistency, and the fact that he’s been somewhat injury prone. A one-two punch that served to squeeze the 6’1”, 205-pounder out of a more prominent role.

Dan Kingerski of PHN described him as a Philip Tomasino-plus, which seems a fair and accurate assessment. In short, the kind of emerging-but-not-yet-there player Pens POHO/GM Kyle Dubas should be “all over,” according to our friend Caleb.

For the record, Chinakhov has a year to go on a deal that pays him $2.1 million, so he’s certainly affordable. Provided Dubas doesn’t have to overpay, perhaps a worthwhile get.

Beware the Leafs

While Dubas has been working his plan with intent, his replacement north of the border, Brad Treliving, is doing the same in Toronto.

Yes, the Leafs lost high-profile forward Mitch Marner to Vegas, which was both unavoidable and inevitable. But they received Nicolas Roy, a rugged, accomplished middle-six forward in return.

In addition, Treliving brought back John Tavares for the way bargain AAV of $4.39 million, acquired feisty, underrated defenseman Henry Thrun from San Jose for used-up 39-year-old heavy Ryan Reaves, snagged Matias Maccelli from Utah for a conditional third-round pick, and signed nail-gun forward Michael Pezzetta, formerly of the Canadiens.

In his latest deal, he acquired power forward Dakota Joshua from Vancouver for a fourth-round pick in the 2028 Entry Draft. The older brother of former Baby Pens property, Jagger Joshua, Dakota had emerged as a solid scorer and leader for the Canucks prior to being treated for testicular cancer this past summer.

Treliving’s moves all have an overarching theme…to make the Leafs deeper and harder to play against. The better to match up mano a mano against bitter Atlantic Division rival and two-time Cup champion Florida.

Similar, in a way, to the work Dubas has done in re-signing Connor Dewar and Boko Imama and adding aggressive defensemen Connor Clifton and Matt Dumba to the Pens’ mix.