Columbus Blue Jackets forward Yegor Chinakhov still waiting for new deal
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Yegor Chinakhov had 16 goals and 29 points last season in 53 games, good enough for just over half a point per game. A great season for the young winger with a thunderous shot.
The problem is he only played in 53 games. He missed the start of the season with a back injury and wasn't cleared until October 25th. In February he missed 10 days due to an upper-body injury. Then in March, he went out again with an upper-body injury, and although he was listed as day-to-day, he wouldn't come back for the rest of the season. Chinakhov has to have some good luck at some point.
Now comes the time when the CBJ must sign Yegor Chinakhov. He's due a qualifying offer of at least $840k, but he would like to sign a more lucrative deal I'm sure.
On June 4th, Chinakhov's agent Shumi Babaev went on social media and said that the team was interested in a "long-term" contract with Chinakhov.
So how close are they on a new contract? Babaev tells THN Columbus, "We're not close, but we're not super far either. Each other's positions are clear. I don’t know yet how quickly we can get closer." He also says that he wants Chinakhov to "calmly prepare for the season, with a signed contract," and would rather not delay getting this deal done.
New GM Don Waddell has a lot on his plate to start his tenure in the Cannon City, and signing all, or most of his most important RFAs has to be up there on the list. Signing the RFA forwards which include, Chinakhov, Marchenko, Sillinger, Nylander, and Johnson has to be the priority. With other guys Texier, Bean, and the minor league guys being lower on the list, we would think.
The last thing this team needs is contract holdouts or negotiations that last into training camp. So for everyone involved, we can only hope Chinakhov's deal, and everyone else's gets done relatively quickly and easily so that Waddell can move on to more pressing issues.
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