The Columbus Blue Jackets have acquired a second-round pick (St. Louis) in the 2026 NHL Draft, 2027 third-round draft pick (Washington) and forward Danton Heinen from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for forward Yegor Chinakhov, club President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Don Waddell announced today. Heinen has been assigned to the American Hockey League’s Cleveland Monsters.
“This trade provides us with additional draft capital over the next two years and a good two-way player in Danton Heinen that will add to our organizational depth at the forward position,” said Waddell. “With regard to Yegor, we believe a change of scenery was in the best interests of both he and the club and we thank him for his contributions over the past five seasons.”
Heinen, 30, has registered 97 goals and 146 assists for 243 points with 139 penalty minutes and a cumulative +29 plus/minus rating in 579 career NHL games with the Penguins, Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins and Anaheim Ducks over the past 10 seasons. This season, he has tallied 1-1-2 and eight PIM in 13 games with Pittsburgh and 6-11-17 and six PIM in 12 games with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He has totaled 21-50-71 and 24 PIM in 82 career AHL contests with W-B/Scranton and Providence.
The 6-2, 187-pound winger was selected by Boston in the fourth round, 116th overall, at the 2014 NHL Draft and made his league debut with the club during the 2016-17 season. He set a career high with 18 goals with the Penguins in 2021-22 when he notched 18-15-33 in 76 games. In 2023-24, he collected a career-high 17-19-36 in 74 outings with the Bruins. He has appeared in 48 career playoff games, totaling 6-7-13 and eight PIM, including a career-high 2-6-8 in 24 games in 2018-19 when he helped Boston advance to the Stanley Cup Final.
A native of Langley, British Columbia, Heinen played two seasons at the University of Denver, where he racked up 36-57-93 and 20 PIM between 2014-16. He earned NCHC Rookie of the Year honors in 2014-15 and was the conference’s Forward of the Year in 2015-16 after posting 20-28-48 and 10 PIM in 41 outings.
Chinakhov, 24, was selected by Columbus in the first round, 21st overall, at the 2020 NHL Draft. He appeared in 204 games with the club over the past five seasons and registered 37-40-77 and 42 penalty minutes, while averaging 13:28 time on ice. His best season was 2023-24 when he notched 16-13-29 and six PIM in 53 contests. In 29 games this season, the Omsk, Russia native collected 3-3-6 and six PIM.
Columbus returns to action tonight when it visits the Ottawa Senators. Game time from Canadian Tire Centre is 7:30 p.m. ET with live coverage on FanDuel Sports Network beginning with Blue Jackets Live at 7 p.m. ET. The game will also be heard on the Blue Jackets Radio Network, including 97.1 The Fan in Columbus, and online at BlueJackets.com.
