Should The Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Kirill Marchenko To A Long-Term Deal Now?

Should The Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Kirill Marchenko To A Long-Term Deal Now?

Kirill Marchenko had back-to-back 20-goal seasons to start his career. That reason alone is enough for CBJ fans to be optimistic about the future. 

The fun-loving Russian managed to avoid the dreaded sophomore slump, and he had to do it during a stressful year in the Capital city.

Marchenko was scratched in late October after going the first seven games of the season scoreless. He responded by scoring goals in three of his next four games. Kirill was back. 

He scored fairly regularly after that, netting 10 goals in 23 games. Then on December 19th against the Buffalo Sabres, he recorded a hat trick in a 9-4 blowout win. Marchenko was finding his groove.

From then on he would only manage to score 10 more goals the rest of the season. He had scoring droughts of 9 games twice and multiple 4-game droughts. Many pointed out that he's just a streaky scorer, which is probably true. While others think it's an issue. I tend to think he'll be fine.

Marchenko led all forwards in shots on goal with 193. The second-place forward was Johnny Gaudreau with only 160. Zach Werenski led the entire team with 202 shots. Werenski leading the team in shots was good and bad. I'll you decide the why.

Marchenko also led the team with 9 power-play goals and finished 3rd in points with 42. Playing with his Russian friends on a line was fun to watch most nights. Some nights they looked lost, while on others they looked like superstars.

Kirill Marchenko is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. The burning question is should the Columbus Blue Jackets lock Marchenko up long-term? Or should they give him a bridge like most young guys get? With Marchenko, he is what he is, a pure goal scorer whose ceiling is sky-high. He did improve his assist total from 4 in his rookie year, to 19 in his second, showing he can be a playmaker if needed. 

Don Waddell needs to decide whether he thinks Marchenko can reach 30 or 40 goals in a season. If he thinks he can, then this should be a no-brainer. The problem is Waddell doesn't know Marchenko. And the new GM has over 10 free agents to deal with this summer. Is it possible he signs a few of these guys to one or two-year deals with the thought that in 2025 and 2026 it'll be much easier to lock them down longer-term with some hefty contracts coming off the books? 

Of all of the RFAs to sign this summer, Kirill Marchenko should be the one who gets the longer contract. Scoring 20 goals in your first two NHL seasons isn't easy, and yet he managed to do it. That's his job to score goals, and he's doing just that.

Kirill Marchenko has 44 NHL goals. A 30-goal season would put him in the top 12 all-time for Columbus, and a 40-goal season would put him in the top 10. Rick Nash leads the franchise with 289 goals. If Marchenko can average 30 goals a season, it would take him eight-plus years to pass Nash. 

We're not trying to put the cart before the horse, but Kirill Marchenko is just THAT good. 

What do you think? Please share your thoughts on our forum.

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