Kirill Marchenko spent four seasons becoming a fan favorite with the Blue Jackets, spreading smiles and happiness throughout the locker room and Nationwide Arena even as things on the ice devolved into some of the franchise's darkest days.
He was adored by fans and teammates alike, providing "Marchy" moments on and off the ice that quickly made him a beloved figure. Marchenko was a Blue Jackets version of the "Ted Lasso" character Danny Rojas, a long-haired, smiling Russian who scored fancy goals, rang up hat tricks and even referred to his toes as "foot fingers," once while learning to speak English.
Marchenko, however, is expected to learn a harsh lesson in his first return
to Columbus since expressing a desire to play elsewhere and forcing a Sept. 28 trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Hospitality and smiles only go so far with Blue Jackets fans, who've seen this movie too many times.
Marchenko is the now just the latest Blue Jackets malcontent, joining the likes of Jeff Carter, Ryan Johansen, Artemi Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky, Josh Anderson, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Seth Jones, Patrick Laine and even Rick Nash as players who've either asked to be traded or prompted trades by informing Blue Jackets management about their plans to leave.
"Marchy" will almost surely get booed in his return, and it could be a vocal bloodletting with Marchenko hearing boos every time he touches the puck. Many of his former teammates have danced and dodged that subject, but even they know what's likely in store.
"In my gut, yeah," Cole Sillinger said, when asked after the Blue Jackets' morning skate whether he thinks Marchenko will be booed. "Obviously, the situation was public, and it was on all the [social media] platforms, so if I had to guess, yeah, but it’s part of the business. We’re a passionate organization and I don’t think our fans take that lightly.”
The Maple Leafs defeated the San Jose Sharks on Oct. 19 in Toronto to start a back-to-back, so only five Toronto players skated after the Blue Jackets left the ice. Marchenko wasn't one of them, so he wasn't available to speak with reporters before the game.
He left the talking to his former teammates to handle, just as he did in training camp with a song-and-dance routine for a group of reporters asking for reasons why he wanted to leave. Regardless, the Blue Jackets are now moving forward without him, focused instead on winning with forward Matthiew Knies, defenseman Emil Andrae and the rest of the return they got in the trade.
"It sucks," center Adam Fantilli said. "It’s a business, right, and 'Marchy not wanting to be here ... like, it’s tough not to take it personally because I would’ve been playing with him all year and he didn’t want to be a part of that, but it is what it is for whatever reasons. Whether it was who he was going to play with, management, coaches ... who knows?"
Fantilli centered the Jackets' top line most of last season with Marchenko a fixture at right wing. That was supposed to continue until somebody close to Marchenko, likely agent Dan Milstein, leaked to ESPN's Kevin Weekes during the NHL draft in late June that Columbus wasn't where the star forward saw himself playing long-term.
Sillinger and other Blue Jackets initially thought Weekes might have bad information churned up by a rampant offseason rumor mill until Marchenko confirmed it upon his arrival for training camp. He wanted to pull the ripcord.
"I haven’t gone in-depth with him on that," Fantilli said. "He has his reasons, and I’m happy we’ve got guys who want to be here. It would’ve been a nightmare having a guy who didn’t want to be here all year. So, I’m happy we got that trade done when we did, and we’ve got guys who want to be here.”
That's the prevailing sentiment among the Blue Jackets.
"It’s his choice and at the end of the day," forward Mathieu Olivier said. "I respect that. I had a chat with him, as well, about it and he was honest with me. So, I respect that, as well, but he didn’t want to be here. And at the end of the day, we want guys who want to be here. It’s nothing personal, but it is a business and we’re trying to win here. So, if he doesn’t want to be here, he doesn’t want to be here.”
Zach Werenski, who had his own offseason issues, tried to hit his comments down the middle of the fairway. Asked if he thinks Marchenko will get booed, Werenski smirked.
“I don’t know," he said. "I guess we’ll see. I really don’t know what to expect. I know he was a fan favorite when he was here. I’m sure they’re a little upset with how it ended, but I’m sure they’ll voice it if they are. It’s all part of the game. It’s part of what goes on. It’s part of the business. As players, I think our main focus tonight is just the two points.”
DispatchBlue Jackets/Crew reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets react to Kirill Marchenko's return with Toronto
