Penguins' Egor Chinakhov could force big decision after potentially fast playoff exit originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are mired in a nightmare start to the playoffs, and it might all be over soon.
Whenever it ends, they'll have a decision to make on Egor Chinakhov -- and at this rate, a playoff exit could accelerate it to the forefront sooner rather than later.
The key note here is that Chinakhov is going to be a restricted free agent when the season ends.
The Penguins will maintain some control over his contract if they want to keep him, but keeping him would still require reaching some kind of agreement.
The 25-year old former first-round pick has blossomed in Pittsburgh, but he hasn't done much in the playoffs yet.
The Penguins still aren't operating with a huge sample size on Chinakhov's overall productivity.
"Chinakhov is a fascinating case," wrote Matt Larkin of Daily Faceoff. "Acquiring him for a second- and third-round pick and Danton Heinen was a coup for Penguins GM Kyle Dubas. Chinakhov, who possesses elite speed and shot power, finally put his first-round draft pedigree together for an 18-18-36 line in 43 games post-trade. From the day he arrived in Pittsburgh, he was fifth in the NHL in goals per 60 at 5-on-5."
Those numbers all look good, and it certainly seems like the Penguins would lean in the youngster's favor.
"Chances are, the analytically minded Dubas knows this and will consider signing Chinakhov to a long-term deal," Larkin writes. "On the other hand: he hasn’t been this good for very long, he hasn’t moved the needle in the playoffs so far, and his Pens are on the verge of a quick playoff exit."
A sour ending to the playoffs would certainly leave a rough taste in everyone's mouth, though. That wouldn't spell doom for Chinakhov necessarily, but it'd likely lead to more evaluation on everyone involved with the Penguins.
They'd much rather turn things around and worry about this kind of stuff later on, but it's getting late early in Pittsburgh.
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