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The Edmonton Oilers could be a destination for disgruntled Blue Jackets winger.
The youth movement is already beginning with the Edmonton Oilers. With the likes of Corey Perry, Evander Kane, and Viktor Arvidsson gone from their ranks, the Oilers will look to Matt Savoie, Ike Howard, and Andrew Mangiapane to pick up the slack and take on big roles with the club.
The Oilers were linked to the Boston Bruins regarding one of their youngsters earlier in the summer. Now, a new report is out that the Oilers are one of two teams linked to disgruntled Yegor Chinakhov of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Edmonton Oilers One of Two Teams Linked to Yegor Chinakhov
GettyLeon Draisaitl & Connor McDavid
On Saturday, September 20, 2025, podcaster Evan Renaerts shared an unconfirmed report on X.
“Per multiple sources, Yegor Chinakhov, 24 year old #CBJ Russian right wing and on a expiring $2.1m deal, has finalized trade demands,” wrote Renaerts. “And #BlackHawks & #LetsGoOilers are in talking stages.”
Renaerts names the X account, FinntasticStats, as one of the sources of this information.
At face value, a 24-year-old winger being interested in playing for the Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks makes a lot of sense. With the Blackhawks, Chinakhov would get a chance to play with Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar. With the Oilers, there would be a good chance that he could get a crack at pairing up with one of Leon Draisaitl or Connor McDavid. That’s an incredibly enticing proposition for any young player.
What Would the Oilers Get With Chinakhov
GettyThe Edmonton Oilers could be a destination for a disgruntled Blue Jackets winger.
Chinakhov is two seasons removed from a 16-goal, 29-point campaign in 2023-24. The Russian forward also averaged 15:10 in ice time over the 53 games he played.
He only has 175 career games under his belt, and has already made a strong impression in his young career.
Chinakhov’s former head coach believes his shot, his powerful skating, and his hockey IQ are his best qualities as a player.
“Yes, he can shoot the puck,” Pascal Vincent said to NHL.com in January 2024. “He’s a powerful skater; he’s strong on the puck. But his biggest quality, and we saw it from the first year, is his hockey sense. His brain is a computer.”
“He reads really fast, and he’s way more reliable defensively than people think.”
It’s an excellent sign for a 24-year-old forward to be labelled as “reliable defensively.” Should a deal come to fruition and he be traded to the Oilers, he could be one of the young players that head coach Kris Knoblauch leans on because of his defensive responsibility.
What an Oilers Trade For Chinakhov Looks Like
GettyMattias Janmark
The Oilers could offer a few different players in a trade that might make sense for the Blue Jackets. Dean Evason said to The Athletic that, “We want to be as aggressive or more aggressive to turn pucks over than we were last season. We want to make teams realize that when they play the Blue Jackets, they’re in one.”
Mattias Janmark is a likely cap casualty for the Oilers and fits the bill as an aggressive forechecker. However, Janmark possesses a 10-team no-trade list, and there is a chance the Blue Jackets are on there.
Kasperi Kapanen is another player with a strong forechecking element to his game who could be trade bait. The former Toronto Maple Leafs forward hasn’t been able to replicate his 20-goal 2018-19 season. Luckily, even if he is not offensively productive, he still has a strong game away from the puck that makes him a valuable asset.
One of Kapanen or Janmark will likely go the other way in a trade between these two clubs. However, time will tell if something will happen between these two teams.
Caleb Kerney Caleb covers the NHL for Heavy.com. He has covered professional hockey since 2022, including bylines at Dobber Prospects, The Hockey Writers, and The Hockey News. More about Caleb Kerney
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