The Washington Capitals made headlines over the weekend when it was revealed they were letting Ivan Miroshnichenko and his representatives talk to other NHL teams to pursue a trade.
Hockey insider Elliotte Friedman reported the news during Sportsnet’s Saturday Headlines segment, adding that the Capitals won’t trade Miroshnichenko unless they get a “legit return.” On the latest episode of the 32 Thoughts podcast, Friedman expanded on those remarks and offered insight into what that return could look like.
Yes, (Miroshnichenko is) allowed to talk to other teams. I like this player. I do. It’s kind of just weird timing because if Ovechkin doesn’t come back this year, I don’t even think this is an issue. And even Ovechkin, on Saturday, played the lowest he ever played, right? But, you know, it is an issue. I think there’s quite a bit of interest.
I thought it was fascinating. The Capitals made it very clear they’re not putting him on waivers because they know they’d lose him for zero, and they’re not doing that. And so somebody compared it to me to the Chinakhov trade. He went from Columbus to Pittsburgh for a second and a third. I’m curious to see if that’s kind of the market. Is that what we’re talking about here? Because he’s a talented player, like Chinakhov was. This is simply a numbers game.
The other thing, too, and actually somebody said this to me on Sunday, that could happen here is, like, Washington just had Dubois miss a bunch of games because he was sick. If somebody gets hurt, this guy could be playing. So we’ll see how long this lasts.
Egor Chinakhkov requested a trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets ahead of the 2025-26 season, citing a disagreement over his role on the team. The 25-year-old Russian winger’s situation mirrored Miroshnichenko’s: a recent first-round pick (21st overall in 2020) who was often a healthy scratch.
The major difference between the two forwards is that Chinakhov had already played 204 games, recording 77 points (37g, 40a) for the Blue Jackets before being dealt. Miroshnichenko has played in just 55 career games with the Capitals, recording 14 points (6g, 8a). He has spent most of his time in Washington’s organization in the AHL with the Hershey Bears, where he has notched 101 points (46g, 55a) in 141 games.
While Chinakhov didn’t immediately get dealt elsewhere, the Blue Jackets eventually sent him to the Pittsburgh Penguins in December of last year. In the trade, the Blue Jackets received forward Danton Heinen, a 2026 second-round pick, and a 2027 third-round pick. Heinen is a bottom-six NHL player who has played 40 games for Columbus since the trade, including seven games this season.
Since moving to Pittsburgh, Chinakhov has blossomed with more ice time, recording 39 points (20g, 19a) in 51 games. The Penguins liked what they saw from the 2020 first-round pick so much that they signed him to a three-year, $18.75 million contract extension in July.
Miroshnichenko is playing out the first year of the two-year, $1.85 million contract extension he signed with the Capitals ahead of last season. He will become a restricted free agent, like Chinakhov, at the end of the 2027-28 campaign.
