Marchenko was drafted 49th overall by the CBJ in 2018.
The Columbus Blue Jackets have traded seemingly disgruntled forward Kirill Marchenko to the Toronto Maple Leafs, ending months of speculation. The deal also involves Elvis Merzlikins and Miles Wood heading to Toronto.
Toronto will also be sending, Steven, Lorentz, Emil Andrae, and a 2027 second round pick.
Merzlikins $5.4 million salary coming off the books is a huge deal for Columbus. Columbus will also retain some salary in the deal, per Elliotte Friedman. 18%, to be exact.
Columbus will receive power forward Matthew Knies in return. The 6-foot-3, 230lb forward set a career high with 66 points last year for the Leafs. He scored 23 goals and had 43 assists. His career high in goals is 29, set back in 24-25. He's played in 240 NHL games and has 160 points.
Knies is signed to a 6-year, $46,500,000 contract with a cap hit of $7,750,000 per season. He is signed through 2031.
Don Waddell says of Knies, “Matthew is a big, strong power forward who combines tough, hard-nosed physical play with outstanding offensive skills,” said Waddell. “He is a young player with great character and work ethic and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome him to the Blue Jackets family.”
Marchenko finishes his CBJ career after playing in 292 games and earning 208 points. He scored 102 goals spread out over four seasons. He also scored 20 or more goals in four straight seasons, including 31 in 2024-25. After garnering just 4 assists in his rookie season, Marchenko bounced back in his final three seasons by getting 102 assists.
Kevin Weekes news that Marchenko would not be extending with the CBJ came out of nowhere and shocked everyone. Don Waddell seemed shocked as well, and fans were livid as to why this could happen.
Was in because Yegor Chinakhov was traded? Was it the Zach Werenski situation? Maybe one day we'll find out why the happy-go-lucky Russian winger decided he didn't want to help Columbus back to the playoffs.
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