Kirill Marchenko has a new home with the Toronto Maple Leafs, leaving the Columbus Blue Jackets in a blockbuster trade on Monday afternoon.
The Maple Leafs acquired Marchenko from Columbus for a return led by winger Matthew Knies, as well as goaltender Elvis Merzlikins. Marchenko will also be signing a six-year contract extension with Toronto as part of the trade, worth $12.5 million per season.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman first reported the full details of the move.
Marchenko, 26, has emerged as one of the NHL’s most productive scoring wingers, recording 67 points (27g, 40a) in 76 games for the Blue Jackets. He has now led Columbus in goal scoring for three straight seasons and finished 15th in points among all of the league’s right wingers this past year, ahead of names like Alex Tuch (66), Bryan Rust (65), Tom Wilson (62), Ivan Demidov (62), Beckett Sennecke (60), Patrick Kane (57), and Matvei Michkov (51).
However, the Russian forward clearly grew discontent in Columbus, despite the team’s best efforts to improve the team and keep him around. Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell seemingly shut down any trade rumors regarding Marchenko over the summer, going as far as saying, “Marchenko’s going to be a Blue Jacket once the season starts.”
Marchenko arrived at training camp this fall, but Waddell’s message didn’t seem to land. He refused to say whether he wanted to play in Columbus this season. The crux of the matter appears to be Marchenko’s reluctance to sign long-term with the Blue Jackets as he enters the final season of the three-year, $11.55 million contract ($3.85 AAV) he signed with the club in 2024.
The Blue Jackets are also in a salary-cap bind after inking expected franchise center Adam Fantilli to a six-year, $82.5 million extension last week. The contract, which begins this season, pushed Columbus almost $35k over the cap, per PuckPedia.
Knies, the central piece of the trade return, is a 23-year-old winger coming off a career-high 66 points (23g, 43a) in 79 games. He is signed through the 2030-31 campaign at a $7.75 million cap hit, much cheaper than Marchenko’s projected future salary.
The Blue Jackets also added forward Steven Lorentz, defenseman Emil Andrae, and a second-round draft selection. Lorentz is a bottom-six contributor who recorded 18 points (7g, 11a) in 71 games last season, and Andrae, whom the Maple Leafs acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers this past June, recorded 13 points (2g, 11a) in 61 games for Philadelphia.
Headed the other way, in addition to Marchenko, are Merzlikins and forward Miles Wood. Merzlikins, once the number-one netminder in Columbus, is out indefinitely after undergoing surgery in late August to repair an injured shoulder. Wood was recently waived by Columbus after recording 14 points (8g, 6a) in 54 games last year.
