Kirill Marchenko was honest with Columbus and told them he would not re-sign with them. Given their attempt to retool on the fly and keep Zach Werenski from rethinking leaving the team ever again, they have to get value out of the player, so a trade now seemed inevitable.
The proposed Leafs-Blue Jackets trade involves multiple pieces, including Knies and Marchenko, and it’s not a done deal yet. Both teams still working through things. Plus Leafs negotiating with Marchenko’s agent Dan Milstein.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) September 28, 2026
The deal is expected to include an extension for Marchenko.
Marchenko is from Barnaul, Russia which is decently close (for Siberia) to where Sergei Bobrovsky is from. He started out in Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk as a teen, and moved to top team SKA St. Petersburg as he was getting ready for KHL play in 2018. Columbus had just drafted Marchenko 49th overall in that summer. He played for SKA until he joined the Blue Jackets and has 16 games total in the AHL from his first season in America.
VitalsAge: 26Position: WingerHeight: 6’3″Weight: 201 lbsShoots: R Contract: $3.85 million which expires at the end of this year where he will have one year as an RFAStats
NHL Edge has him at 93rd percentile for skating speed and better than that for speed bursts, approaching best in the NHL.
He has played 19 minutes per game in his past two years and was the most used forward on the team last year playing on a line with Adam Fantilli most of the time.
Advanced Stats
As you can see, over the last three years Marchenko has been a primary driver of offence with an emphasis on GF, which is the most volatile and unreliable measure of a forward. That’s not his personal scoring, but everyone’s while he is on the ice.
He is definitely not noted for defence, but he’s in the “fine for a winger” range, and his power-play prowess more than compensates.
HockeyViz has him as a good, but not outstanding creator of offence, with excellent finishing skills and a “do no harm” rating on defence.
He shoots at a high rate, not Auston Matthews high, but in the upper echelon of forwards, and he routinely scores over expected.
To compare again to Matthews, this is a very different pattern with much greater concentration in the slot. He shot from five feet farther away on average last season. That and his slightly reduced rate of shooting makes him merely excellent, not elite as Matthews is.
HighlightsThe Good
He is a very good top-line winger with real shooting talent that has been consistent over several years. He is lightning fast, and can score without having to crash the net. He is also very good on the power play.
The Bad
There almost needs to be a “The Neutral” here. He’s not bad nor good at defence. He isn’t bad or very good at puck control. He is good but not great at creating offence. His impacts on shotshare are okay, and his impact on quality of shots for is good. There’s no big glaring flaw here.
Overall Assessment
He would be the second best winger (for a very short time) on the team, and the gap between him and William Nylander is big, but it still has Marchenko in the actual impact player range.
He’s so fast, and he’s only 26, which could set him up as a player who will instantly be a meaningful part of the core team.
This is an opportunity to upgrade the team in a deeply significant way that should not be missed.