The Blue Jackets traded Yegor Chinakhov to the Pittsburgh Penguins yesterday, moving on from a former first round draft pick. Today, we're taking a look at the full return.
We broke down the trade and Yegor's time in Columbus yesterday, but In case you missed it, here's the full deal:
At a glance, I think this is really tidy work by Don Waddell. As we dig deeper, it looks even better.
In exchange for a player who wasn't fitting in, he recoups a high draft pick for next summer, and adds to his future draft capital as well. He also adds a player that helps improve this team's depth right now.
What does Danton Heinen bring?
The most simple way to put it: Danton Heinen fits the archetype that Don Waddell and Dean Evason have preferred to have on this team.
The 6'2", 187 pound 30 year old has over 500 games of NHL experience. His game is built around being a responsible two-way winger that can play up and down the lineup and in all situations.
Heinen is not going to come in and replace Chinakhov's scoring potential. But, when called upon, he will definitely play the kind of game that Evason wants out of his team.
He'll work hard on both sides of the puck and help this team win games with their new-found identity.
Heinen had just cleared waivers when this trade went down yesterday, and I don't think that timing was a mistake. I think this deal was probably in place before he was placed on waivers on Sunday, with both teams having the knowledge that he would probably clear.
By taking him the other way in this trade, Waddell probably upgraded the value of the picks coming the other way. And, since he already cleared waivers, the Blue Jackets could send him directly to the Cleveland Monsters, which is where he will get started.
Tidy work all around.
In two trades over the last two weeks, Don Waddell reshaped this entire roster. He turned a disgruntled former first round pick into an immediate upgrade to his middle six, while simultaneously improving his draft capital.
Break it down like this:
In: Mason Marchment, 2026 2nd round pick, 2027 3rd round pick
Out: Yegor Chinakhov, 2027 2nd round pick, 2026 4th round pick
Since acquiring Marchment, the Jackets are 3-1-0. And if not for an awful defensive sequence at the end of the first game post-trade, they could easily have four consecutive regulation wins.
I have to eat some crow here. I called this organization out a few weeks ago. Since then, Don has acted, changing the team's entire outlook and future. He did a very neat job cleaning things up, and the team suddenly has a new identity moving forward.