NHL Notebook: Yegor Chinakhov requests trade from Blue Jackets, Jets extend Vilardi, and more

Chinakhov, 24, was the 21st overall pick in the 2020 draft. The Russian winger stayed in the KHL for his draft-plus-one campaign, playing for the Omsk Avangard, where they won the Championship. Chinakov then came overseas and joined the Blue Jackets organization for the 2021-2022 season.

The 6-foot-1, 201-pound forward mostly skipped the American League in his rookie season, playing just one game for the Cleveland Monsters. At the NHL level, Chinakhov suited up in 62 games, scoring seven goals and seven assists for 14 points.

Since then, much of Chinakhov’s story has been headlined by injuries. He has suffered numerous injuries throughout the following three seasons, which have limited him to no more than 53 games in a single season. This past season, Chinakhov dealt with a back injury at the start of 2024-2025 and was also sidelined for an additional 39 games midseason due to another upper-body injury.

But when he’s in the lineup, he’s fairly productive. He has scored 34 goals and 37 assists for 71 points in 175 NHL games. However, with the influx of wingers on the Blue Jackets, Chinakhov is searching for a new home. He has one season left on his contract at $2.1 million AAV.

To put our Canucks-tinted glasses on…

Could Chinakhov be an option for the Canucks? Maybe not, considering he’s yet another middle-six winger, in which the Canucks have plenty of. But if they’re looking for more offence, he could come at a relatively reasonable price.

Vilardi staying in Winnipeg

Although they may have lost out on Nikolaj Ehlers, the Winnipeg Jets were able to avoid arbitration and retain restricted free agent Gabe Vilardi to a six-year, $45 million contract, carrying a $7.5 million AAV.

Vilardi, 25, was acquired from the Los Angeles Kings in the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade. Along with Vilardi, the Jets also acquired Alex Iafollo, Rasmus Kupari, and a 2024 second-round pick (Alfons Freij).

The 6-foot-3, 216-pound winger has fit in nicely on the right of Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele. He made a significant leap in 2024-2025, scoring 27 goals and 34 assists for 61 points in 71 games, which earned him this lucrative contract extension.

To put our Canucks-tinted glasses on…

The Vilardi extension comes in a little higher than Brock Boeser’s $7.25 million AAV deal he signed with the Canucks. Which is a fairly good comparable. Neither player is the fastest, but both are defensively sound. Neither player really drives play on their own; however, Boeser’s goal-scoring ability gives him a slight edge offensively.

Ducks extend Lukas Dostal

After trading away long-time number one goalie John Gibson, the Anaheim Ducks locked up their goaltender of the future in Lukas Dostal to a five-year, $32.5 million contract, carrying a $6.5 million AAV.

Earlier this offseason, the Ducks traded Gibson to the Detroit Red Wings for a 2027 second-round pick, a 2026 fourth-round pick and goaltender Petr Mrazek. Gibson became available due to the emergence of Dostal over the past two seasons.

The 25-year-old netminder has started 98 games in the last two years, resulting in a 37-46-10 record, with a 3.22 goals against average, a .903 save percentage and two shutouts. Now, those numbers may not look great, but considering how leaky the Ducks have been lately, he’s been better than the numbers appear. While allowing 3.22 goals per game, Dostal still averaged 30.1 saves per game.

To put our Canucks-tinted glasses on…

The Ducks lock up Dostal at $2 million less than the $8.5 million AAV contract the Canucks signed Thatcher Demko to. Now, Demko has proven much more than Dostal has in the NHL, along with a runner-up for the Vezina Trophy. But the Kevin Lankinen $4.5 million AAV contract looks pretty good now after seeing what Dostal came in at.