The Pittsburgh Penguins are looking to boost their forward lineup as they have been poking around at Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson. And it has been said so many times by NHL insider Elliotte Friedman on his 32 Thoughts podcast that Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas is trying to get a deal done. And if Dubas wants to strike a deal, he might have to include Egor Chinakhov.
Robertson is a player that can routinely put up 40 goals a season and would provide a much needed boost to the Penguins offense. As for Chinakhov, Dubas acquired him in a midseason trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Chinakhov finished last year with 21 goals and 21 assists.
That kind of production will not fully replace what Robertson brings to the table if the Penguins could strike a deal, but Chinakhov likely would have to be a starting point in trade talks. He is 25 and Robertson is 26 so the Stars would get a young scoring forward in return as a starter.
Stars podcaster thinks that Chinakhov absolutely needs to be apart of Robertson trade
The host of Locked on Stars podcast Joey Erickson posted on X the other day that if the two teams want to strike a deal, Egor Chinakhov would provide offensive upside. And Erickson would be correct after how Chinakhov finished last season.
The Columbus Blue Jackets ended up trading Chinakhov because they were playing him on their fourth line and not getting the production that they were used to. As a result, they shipped him to their division rival, the Penguins played him in their top six, and Chinakhov blossomed.
The Stars would not be missing a beat if they were to get Chinakhov from the Penguins, if the two teams struck a deal, and put him in their top six. Chinakhov is a player that needs to be in the top six with two other dynamic forwards to shine.
The Stars have that in Wyatt Johnston and Mikko Rantanen and that line would be dangerous in the Western Conference. Offering Chinakhov would be the best way that Dubas could acquire Robertson, it is just a matter of if he wants to do it.
The Penguins would miss Egor Chinakhov but Robertson is the real deal
It would not be understated that Penguins fans got attached to Egor Chinakhov as they got used to him in their lineup and noticed the kind of lethal shot that the young forward has. If Dubas pulls off the trade and includes him in the deal, he would be missed.
But if the Penguins got Robertson and added him to their lineup, they would be adding a player that they have not had in quite some time. Robertson puts up a ton of goals per season and strictly plays on the top powerplay unit.
Robertson creates a ton of offense and to help matters, the Penguins added his brother Nick Robertson by trade on July 1. So the brothers would get to play together and help create offense for a Penguins team that missed that in the 2026 playoffs.
It seems to be a matter of when not if the deal gets done. Dubas seems motivated with each passing day to get the other Robertson brother to Pittsburgh, and he will stop at nothing to make it happen.
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