The Blue Jackets are at least willing to hear people out on Dmitri Voronkov.
According to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, Columbus continues to take calls on the 26-year-old forward, and the interest is real enough that Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reported “some teams” have been asking about him. Voronkov’s name has been circulating while his role in Columbus has shrunk, and the fit has become harder to ignore.
That’s been reflected in the lineup. Voronkov was a healthy scratch for Columbus’ back-to-back games on Oct. 17 and 18, then returned for the loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday. More recently, he skated on the second line with countryman Valeri Nichushkin and veteran No. 2 center Sean Monahan after previously fighting with 22-year-old Luca Del Bel Belluz for a spot on the fourth line.
The production hasn’t helped his case. Through six games, Voronkov had two assists and no goals, while averaging 11:44 of ice time per game.
He’s also seen time on the second power play unit. In the Nov. 9 update, Portzline noted that Voronkov had two assists in 10 games, and that despite some strong underlying numbers - third on the team in shot attempts% at 54.3% and 10th in on-ice goals for% at 50% - the usage still doesn’t look like a clean match.
This isn’t the first time Voronkov has had to fight for a regular spot in Columbus. His NHL run has been a swingy one, with stretches that made him look like a major part of the future and others where he slipped down the depth chart.
As a rookie, he put up 18 goals and 34 points after bringing his KHL scoring over to the NHL. The next season, he took another step with 23 goals and 47 points in 73 games.
But the climb hasn’t been steady. The source of the issue, by all accounts, has been trust.
Voronkov’s inability to earn head coach Rick Bowness’ confidence has been a major factor in the way his role has changed. In the 45 games he played before Bowness arrived last season, Voronkov averaged 16:31 of ice time and produced 16 goals and 29 points.
Once Bowness took over on Jan. 13 of last year, the numbers changed fast. Voronkov played 18 games under him before a hand injury ended his season, and his ice time fell to under 11 minutes per game.
He scored one goal and three points in that span. In the final five games of his 2025-26 season, he was under 10 minutes three times and topped out at 10:58.
The team results also shifted while he was being used in a smaller role. Before Bowness arrived, Columbus won 19 of the 45 games Voronkov played.
After the coaching change, the Blue Jackets won 13 of the 18 games he appeared in. That kind of split has only added to the sense that Voronkov and Bowness haven’t clicked.
There’s also the contract side of this. Voronkov is in the second season of a two-year deal that pays him $4.175MM annually, and the contract expires this summer.
At that point, he’ll be an arbitration-eligible RFA if he receives a qualifying offer. With salaries climbing around the league, his scoring track record gives him a strong case for a raise, but the Blue Jackets may not be eager to go there.
That’s why a change of scenery starts to make sense. Columbus has other young forwards to develop, and Voronkov may need a different environment to get back to the level he showed earlier in his career. It may not be a simple deal to pull off, especially if the Blue Jackets still value him highly, but the logic is there for both sides.
Portzline also noted that Columbus’ waiver activity had the NHL paying attention, even though no trade materialized. Danton Heinen and defenseman Emil Andrae were sent to Cleveland, the club’s AHL affiliate, and Andrae was described as a possible extra defenseman to include in a deal. The 24-year-old defenseman carries $375K in buried salary on the Blue Jackets’ books.
LeBrun did caution that Voronkov is not a lock to be moved. Still, with the way this has trended, a trade looks like a very live possibility.
The situation isn’t all that different from what happened with Egor Chinakhov a year ago, when he went from being nearly pushed out of the Blue Jackets’ lineup to becoming an instant contributor with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Voronkov and Chinakhov also share the same agent, Rick Komarow of Maverick Sports Management.
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