- The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline says there is nothing happening on the Kirill Marchenko trade front
- The report cools a wave of Russian-media rumors that had a deal sounding close
- Read below for what Columbus is thinking and why the trade talk keeps circling
The Kirill Marchenko trade rumors just hit a wall.
Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reported Saturday that there is nothing happening with the Blue Jackets on Marchenko, despite the chatter coming out of Russia. He left the door open for that to change later this summer, but said Columbus has not had calls on the winger since earlier in the offseason.
Here is Portzline putting the rumors to rest:
That cools a story that was picking up real speed. Just a day earlier, reports out of Russia had Marchenko getting moved soon, with the Montreal Canadiens named as a team in the mix.
Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell already told reporters earlier this summer that Marchenko would be in Columbus for the start of the season. The team shut down the trade talk back in July, but the noise never fully went away.
The contract is a big part of why. Marchenko becomes a restricted free agent next summer with one more year of team control after that, and word in June was that a long-term extension looked unlikely. The longer that drags on, the louder the trade talk gets.
Columbus has plenty of reason to hold. The 26-year-old has led all Blue Jackets forwards in scoring in each of the last two seasons and has never finished below 20 goals in an NHL year.
The Jackets also lived through the Zach Werenski trade rumors and came out the other side keeping their star blueliner. Moving Marchenko would be another step back for a group that already went cold scoring down the stretch last season.
Marchenko stays a Blue Jacket, and Waddell’s read from earlier this summer still holds.
