Blue Jackets Open To Trading Kirill Marchenko

Marchenko was vaulted back into the vortex of trade rumors earlier this month after an awkward season-opening media availability where he was non-committal about his future in Columbus.

Portzline characterized Marchenko as “slippery” and “elusive” when confronted with questions about his future with the Blue Jackets.

Numerous teams have been reported to have interest in Marchenko, including the Montreal Canadiens and Utah Mammoth.

Another team that has been rumored, though to a lesser extent, has been the Seattle Kraken. Seattle has been chasing a star forward for the better part of a year, but has seen their previous attempts to acquire players such as Artemi Panarin and Jason Robertson fall short of being completed. Marchenko seems a natural next target for the Kraken.

The Blue Jackets begin their regular season schedule on Thursday, when they host the Buffalo Sabres. Columbus only recently moved past its negotiations with star No. 1 center Adam Fantilli, who reported to training camp late due to unfinished contract talks.

Now, they risk entering the season with another looming distraction, one that threatens to upend the organization’s ability to concentrate on returning to the playoffs for the first time since the 2020 bubble.

Waddell addressed the prospect of trading Marchenko directly, telling Portzline “We don’t want draft picks and prospects, we want the best player possible to replace him.” Waddell also clarified that he is not actively shopping Marchenko, but rather receiving the calls teams make about Marchenko and working through the interest other clubs demonstrate to the Blue Jackets in the player.

Crucially, the Blue Jackets do hold some important leverage over Marchenko in the form of his contract status. While his $3.85MM AAV deal expires in the summer, Marchenko will become an RFA, not a UFA. He’d still be a full year from reaching UFA status. With that said, Marchenko’s value may only diminish the closer he gets to the open market.

While it’s no guarantee Marchenko is traded at any point this season, it certainly does seem like that is the direction things are headed. Players can always change their minds – look no further than Columbus’ own Zach Werenski, who was nearly traded this summer before recommitting to the Blue Jackets – but it does appear as though a trade might be the optimal outcome for all involved parties.

If Marchenko is dealt, he’d almost certainly be one of the more significant players traded during the 2026-27 season, regardless of who else ends up being traded. The 26-year-old is entering the prime of his career and has blossomed into a highly productive star winger.

Over the last two seasons, Marchenko has scored 58 goals and 141 points in 155 games. In each of those two seasons, Marchenko has been No. 2 in team scoring, behind only Werenski.

Although he did fade in some crucial moments down the stretch last season as the Blue Jackets’ offense sputtered and the team tumbled out of playoff position, Marchenko remains one of the best players known to be available to be traded for.

The key question is: Waddell has made it clear he has strict criteria for what he wants in exchange for Marchenko. The key question is whether any team will be willing to meet his asking price of high-end NHL-proven talent. According to Portzline’s report, we may find out sooner rather than later.