COLUMBUS, Ohio — When it became known over the summer that Yegor Chinakhov had asked for a trade, Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell told his counterparts across the NHL that he wanted a roster player as part of any return.

The only offers Waddell received, he said, were draft picks and prospects, or depth NHL players who barely moved the needle. That’s why Chinakhov remained parked with the Blue Jackets well into the season.

So what changed?

Waddell’s trade to acquire Mason Marchment from the Seattle Kraken earlier this month gave the Blue Jackets a versatile forward, one who provided flexibility to coach Dean Evason and Waddell, it seems.

The Blue Jackets traded Chinakhov to the Pittsburgh Penguins Monday in return for a second-round draft pick in 2026 (previously owned by the St. Louis Blues) and a third-round pick in 2027 (previously owned by the Washington Capitals).

Veteran forward Danton Heinen, who cleared waivers and was sent to the AHL Monday before the trade, was also part of the deal. He’ll remain with AHL Cleveland at least for the short term, Waddell said.

“When we got Marchment, for sure it changed,” Waddell said. “We were always pretty adamant that we wanted to get a player, and the players being offered — no disrespect to any of the teams — we just didn’t think it was something that would help us.”

The Blue Jackets gave up a second-round pick in 2027 and a fourth-round pick in 2026 to get Marchment from the Kraken Dec. 18, just hours before the NHL’s holiday roster freeze went into effect.

“Once we paid the (draft pick) capital to get Marchment, we were able to change our focus on what the return had to be,” Waddell said. “It brought more teams into it, too, because there were a lot of teams who were interested in the player (Chinakhov), but for picks, not somebody off their roster.”

Wishing you all the best, Chinny! pic.twitter.com/HHXZ4HHwbi

— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) December 29, 2025

Waddell said seven clubs made offers on Chinakhov when it was clear that his return demands had changed. The Penguins’ willingness to include a second-round pick was a bonus, and Heinen, a veteran of 579 NHL games with Boston, Anaheim, Pittsburgh and Vancouver, was a sweetener.

Waddell said he had no reservations trading Chinakhov to a Metropolitan Division rival, one the Blue Jackets play three or four times per season. In fact, the Blue Jackets host Pittsburgh and Chinakhov Sunday at Nationwide Arena.

“I have a policy where I don’t worry so much about where the player is going,” Waddell said. “I worry instead about what the return is.

“If I would have traded him somewhere else to get a third-round pick and a depth player … that’s not good for the Blue Jackets. So, get the most value you can get, and if it happens to be a team down the street, so be it.”