- Don Waddell expects Kirill Marchenko on the ice when Blue Jackets camp opens Sept. 16
- Teams keep calling on the winger, but Columbus has not found a deal it wants
- Read below for the contract math that started all of this and where Marchenko stands now
Kirill Marchenko is going to training camp in Columbus.
Blue Jackets president and general manager Don Waddell told Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch that he still expects the winger on the ice when camp opens Sept. 16, two months after trade speculation swallowed his offseason. Other teams have called. None of them got close enough.
Waddell was asked whether any of those calls had moved him off the plan.
“He’s a player under contract. We control the situation, like with every player under contract. Teams have called me, but if we’re going to make a deal, it’s going to be a deal that helps the Columbus Blue Jackets.”
This all started in late June. Kevin Weekes cited “Marchenko’s camp” on ESPN’s draft broadcast and said the 26-year-old had no interest in staying in Columbus long term. It aired moments before the Blue Jackets used the 14th overall pick on Oscar Hemming.
Nothing in April’s exit interviews pointed that direction, according to Waddell. He had just traded for Valeri Nichushkin on June 25, partly because the Russian power forward is close with both Marchenko and Ivan Provorov.
Marchenko is still in Russia. One year remains on his bridge deal at $3.85 million, and he stays a restricted free agent for another season after that before hitting the open market on July 1, 2028.
Money is the real squeeze. Columbus also has to pay Adam Fantilli and Zach Werenski, and Werenski’s own contract noise ended with him killing a trade to Dallas using his no-movement clause.
Losing Marchenko would hurt more than the cap sheet says. He has led or tied for the Blue Jackets lead in goals in each of the last three seasons, sits at 102 goals and 106 assists in 292 career games, and converts 60 percent of his shootout attempts.
Take a look at all 27 goals he scored last season:
The GM offered a broader read on the summer as well.
“It’s been a crazy summer, but I think we’re in a good spot. I think we’ll get everything accomplished that we need to get accomplished before we start, and we’ll be ready to roll.”
Columbus has already flipped into camp mode:
Two weeks out, Marchenko is on the list of players Columbus expects to see on Sept. 16.
