On Wednesday, the Blue Jackets did their best to put out the flaming fire of speculation surrounding Zach Werenski with both the team and player putting out statements to quell the trade talk. Today, GM Don Waddell tried to do the same thing regarding winger Kirill Marchenko, himself generating a lot of speculation amid reports that he may not be interested in staying in Columbus for the long run.
Speaking to reporters (video link), Waddell indicated that he has had discussions with Marchenko’s agent (Gold Star Hockey’s Dan Milstein) and communicated that their top-scoring forward is “going to be a Blue Jacket when the season starts.”
Marchenko has one season left on his contract at a very team-friendly $3.85MM AAV. Next summer, he’ll be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent and one year away from UFA eligibility. Considering he has put up 74 and 67 points over his last two seasons, it’s fair to say that he’s in line for a substantial raise, potentially pushing for around triple his current price tag. Waddell’s comments should take the air out of any trade speculation for the time being but until Marchenko signs an extension, the uncertainty on that front will continue to loom.
Meanwhile, after bringing in some grit via trade and free agency, Waddell mentioned that his next top priority is dealing with his restricted free agents. Columbus has three of significance, goaltender Jet Greaves along with centers Adam Fantilli and Cole Sillinger. Greaves and Sillinger both have arbitration eligibility so they may be the priority in the short term with the filing deadline coming on Sunday.
While offer sheets are unlikely given how infrequently they’re used, Waddell preemptively pointed out they will match anything other teams might try to sign their players to. The GM wouldn’t provide any specifics on when he thought his players would be signed but guaranteed that they’d be under contract before next season begins.
Greaves took the starting job and ran with it last season, posting a 2.60 GAA and a .908 SV% in 55 games, helping keep the Blue Jackets in the playoff hunt until the end of the season. Fantilli, meanwhile, picking up five more points than he had in his sophomore year, finishing up with 24 goals and 35 assists in 89 games. As for Sillinger, he continues to be consistent offensively. Through five NHL seasons, he has produced between 31 and 33 points in four of them; he hit the higher mark in 2025-26 in 81 games.
The Blue Jackets have a little under $21.5MM in cap space as things stand, per PuckPedia. It will take the bulk of that to sign their RFA class but they should be able to comfortably get all three under contract over the coming months.
Lastly, one of their newest prospects will be on the move after the upcoming season. Alexander Di Iorio announced on his Instagram page earlier this week that he will play for Boston University starting in 2027-18. The center was the 94th pick last month out of OHL Sarnia where he had 31 points in 45 games. He’ll remain with the Sting for the upcoming season and then make the jump to college hockey.