In today’s NHL rumour rundown, the Columbus Blue Jackets tried to include forward Yegor Chinakhov in a trade to acquire Noah Dobson. Elsewhere, the Toronto Maple Leafs did a lot of work this offseason, adding depth, but if they look to add some more scoring to the lineup, they could move Brandon Carlo to do so. Finally, Chris Johnston addressed some of the reports regarding Mason McTavish, and an offer sheet may not be on the table.
Blue Jackets Tried Using Chinakhov To Acquire Dobson
According to a report from David Pagnotta, the Blue Jackets were using Chinakhov as a trade chip in their package to acquire Dobson from the New York Islanders prior to the Montreal Canadiens acquiring him and signing him to a big contract extension.
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Many insiders reported that the Dobson sweepstakes came down to a two-horse race between the Canadiens and Blue Jackets, but the Islanders clearly preferred the package the Canadiens had to offer.
Over the past few days, there have been reports about Chinakhov requesting a trade out of Columbus, and the belief is that the Blue Jackets are going to try and honour that request, but will only make a deal for fair value.
The issue between Chinakhov and head coach Dean Evason seems to be around communication. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reported that the communication regarding his position in the lineup. Chinakhov was serving as a healthy scratch as the season dwindled down, and in the Blue Jackets’ run for a playoff spot, he sat out during their great stretch of play. (from No way Yegor Chinakhov can stay in Columbus after trade request, agent says: ‘It’s all about the coach’, The Athletic, July 18, 2025)
Portzline continued the report by stating that Chinakhov’s agent feels the relationship is irreparable due to the miscommunication between him and the coach. Through a team spokesperson, Portzline was told that Evason had no issue with the communication and that there are open lines of communication with him, the players, and the assistant coaches.
Leafs Could Move Carlo for Scoring Help
Now that the Maple Leafs’ offseason moves have been taking shape, there are a few things they could look to upgrade, including the scoring on the forward group. Nick Kypreos shared that he believes that the Maple Leafs could move one of their defensemen for help replacing Mitch Marner’s production.
When looking at the defense, Morgan Rielly could make sense to move, but with his no-move clause, it is unlikely. Jake McCabe and Chris Tanev will make for a very strong pair, and to round out the top four, Carlo could be the one on the move.
At the end of the season, after acquiring Carlo, Rielly did better with him alongside him, but Carlo didn’t play as well with Rielly as he did before. This puts the Maple Leafs in a difficult position about whether they will want to keep them together for the sake of Rielly’s game, or if they want to use Carlo as a trade chip or separate them for Carlo’s sake.
The additions that the Maple Leafs made, including Dakota Joshua, Mattias Maccelli, and Nicolas Roy, are all great depth moves, but don’t replace the high-end scoring that Marner took with him.
Offer Sheet Off the Table for McTavish
On one of the latest episodes of the Steve Dangle Podcast, Johnston reported that while many teams are looking at the Ducks’ situation with McTavish, an offer sheet may be off the table as the Ducks are able to match most deals, and the draft compensation may not be enough for them to let him go.
McTavish is still without a contract, and with other top-six forwards coming into the mix, he could be feeling like the opportunity to thrive isn’t going to be in Anaheim anymore. After being picked third overall in 2021, McTavish has posted 140 points across his first three seasons and has been developing well, but the thing about the Ducks is that through the rebuild, they have acquired so many young star forwards, and have recently acquired Chris Kreider and signed Mikael Granlund. While there is certainly still a path to McTavish taking over a top role for the future, the stop-gap for the next few seasons could be off-putting to him.
Nearly every team in the league would love to bring McTavish in, and the Ducks likely want to keep him, so the price for acquisition could be very high. In the final episode of the 32 Thoughts Podcast a few weeks ago, Elliotte Friedman stated that he would be shocked if a long-term deal got done with McTavish, and a bridge deal would be more likely.
At this point, there haven’t been any indications that there has been progress between the Ducks and McTavish, and with Lukas Dostal and Drew Helleson signed, McTavish is the only player they have left to sign, and they have over $21 million to do so.
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