Kirill Marchenko won’t be staying with the Blue Jackets after all, and neither will Elvis Merzlikins or Miles Wood.
All three were traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sept. 28 for power forward Matthew Knies, forward Steven Lorentz, defenseman Emil Andrae and a second-round pick. After saying July 2 that Marchenko would, “be a Blue Jacket once the season starts,” team president/general manager Don Waddell traded the right wing instead, along with two additional players with contracts he wanted to unload.
As part of the deal, the Maple Leafs hammered out a six-year, $75 million contract extension ($12.5 million AAV) for Marchenko that starts next season. Marchenko has one season left
on his current contract, which counts just $3.85 million against the NHL’s salary cap.
Given what has transpired the past couple of years with the NHL's salary cap skyrocketing, top young free-agent forwards have gotten massive salary boosts this summer. The Blue Jackets recently locked up star center Adam Fantilli for a six-year, $82.5 million contract extension.
According to reporter Elliotte Friedman, the Blue Jackets permitted Toronto to speak with Marchenko about a contract extension.
Merzlikins, meanwhile, has been rehabilitating from an Aug. 17 shoulder surgery and has resided on the Blue Jackets' injured reserve. He is in the final season of a five-year contract with a $5.4 million salary-cap hit that's paying him $4.22 million this season. Merzlikins and his wife, Aleksandra, are selling a 6,026-square-foot house in New Albany for a $2.9 million listing price, according to a RedFin listing.
Knies, 23, had 23 goals and 43 assists in his third full season for the Maple Leafs while averaging 18:48 minutes on the ice. He was selected 57th overall in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.
Columbus Blue Jackets end Kirill Marchenko speculation by trading him
Leading up to the NHL Draft in late June, trade rumors about Marchenko materialized around the same time that reports surfaced about Blue Jackets star defenseman Zach Werenski not wanting to stay beyond the final two years of his contract.
Waddell was deluged by calls from opposing GMs, while Blue Jackets fans followed in disbelief.
The Montreal Canadiens showed the most interest in Marchenko, and their pursuit continued after the draft began. It then intensified before the Blue Jackets picked 14th overall, after ESPN's Kevin Weekes revealed that “Marchenko’s camp” had informed him the star forward wasn’t interested in signing a long-term extension in Columbus.
Trade interest in Werenski was even hotter until he vetoed a trade to the Dallas Stars on July 1, which led to statements being released by both he and Waddell saying the Blue Jackets’ Norris Trophy winning defenseman wanted to stay with the Blue Jackets.
Neither provided a timeline for that wish, but Waddell said he expected Werenski and Marchenko to show up for training camp in September and play for the Blue Jackets this season.
“I don’t lump the two together,” Waddell said. “I’ve had discussions with [Marchenko’s] agent [Dan Milstein], which we won’t discuss right now, but Marchenko’s going to be a Blue Jacket once the season starts.”
Not anymore.
Marchenko, selected by the Blue Jackets in the second round (49th overall) of the 2018 draft, will take his goal-scoring prowess, elite shootout moves and infectiously entertaining personality to Seattle while the Blue Jackets welcome an impressive haul from the Kraken.
Dispatch Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com
Trending sports reporter Dan Aulbach contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets send Marchenko, Merzlikins, Wood to Toronto Maple Leafs
