Could Yegor Chinakhov Play Elsewhere, Not Only in the NHL But KHL Too
On the July 17th edition of NHL Tonight on NHL Network, the crew of Mike Rupp, Stu Grimson, and Tony Luftman discuss the trade request by Yegor Chinakhov of the Columbus Blue Jackets. They discuss the reason why he wants out of Columbus and how it is a different culture and way of playing. In addition, Chinakhov has the leverage to go to the KHL.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
NHL Rumors: Yegor Chinakhov Has Asked the Columbus Blue Jackets for a Trade
Tony Luftman: “We go back to the World Wide Web for this. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic Yegor Chinakhov requesting a trade, citing misunderstandings with Blue Jackets, Coach Dean Everson, and GM Don Waddell, said, “Chinakhov wouldn’t handle being a healthy scratch after he returned from a back injury last spring.”
Here are the numbers, year by year. A Jacket for some time now, and he missed 109 games over span with injuries, when this much comes out, typically, ideally, this would come out after the transaction, but us knowing that this is definitely headed for a divorce. What’s your read on it?””
Mike Rupp: “I mean, the player certainly doesn’t seem happy and wants out. I mean, that’s very clear and evident here. I do think that there’s times where players maybe needed to have a new look, but maybe the team does too, in parting ways. I mean, this is a team where Dean Evason has gone in there, and they created a culture of working hard and playing a certain way. And I’m not sure that Chinakhov brings those attributes. So is that in there? Is that part of his DNA? I don’t know. We’ll have to see, but maybe it’s best that he gets an opportunity elsewhere, and we’ll see what happens.”
NHL Rumors: Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Islanders, and the Toronto Maple Leafs
Chinakhov And Culture
Stu Grimson: “You mentioned culture, but all expound on culture in a in a different way, a North American player going through a similar circumstance, you get sad after you’re coming back from an injury and maybe your play has been subpar, a North American player will tend to kind of reflect on that, respond to that, and come back with a renewed attitude, a more steeled attitude.
I played with a lot of Russian players, and this is just a cultural contrast that I’m making. It’s harder for a Russian player to kind of take the lesson in the same way that a North American player does. So when that happens and you’ve got Dean Evason, I mean, he’s a WHL graduate. He’s a Western Canadian guy growing up. It’s a different approach altogether, and it’s kind of my way or the highway to some degree. So you’ve got, again, what I’ll call more a cultural clash, as much as anything. And for Chinakhov, rather than address that, try to sort that through in that environment; his preference is to do it somewhere else.”
NHL Rumors: Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Columbus Blue Jackets
The KHL Option?
Rupp: “You also this is where it’s just the nature and the reality of it. You they have the KHL as an option, right? So a lot of times it’s, Hey, I know that I’m going to do this, because I can go there. I can always go there. And sometimes you’ve got, equity in these with using high picks and whatever the circumstances are with some of the players. So sometimes that makes a little bit sticky, sure, because if you’re a North American kid, quite frankly, I want to play in this league. This is it. That’s really kind of the only other option. But the Russian players do have other options.”
Grimson: “And you talk to general managers in our league, there are ebbs and flows in this area. It is the reason that you’re sometimes reluctant, or, how should I say, cautious, about selecting a Russian player in the draft. Again, options and those cultural differences.”
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