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Grading the Blue Jackets’ Marchenko-for-Knies Trade

Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Matthew Knies celebrates his goal scored against goaltender Darcy Kuemper (Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images)

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Grading the Blue Jackets’ Marchenko-for-Knies Trade

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Wesley Minke | Last updated Sep 29, 2026 9:35 AM ET

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The Columbus Blue Jackets traded their star winger Kirill Marchenko for Matthew Knies, as a part of a six-player trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The trade lands a young top line winger in Columbus, who will have team control for five more seasons, and gives Toronto a dynamic top line goal scorer to pair with Auston Matthews and Gavin McKenna.

As we can start to plan for what this Blue Jackets roster could look like, the other two pieces coming with Knies could be an even bigger factor to give them depth, in Steven Lorentz and Emil Andrae.

The Blue Jackets did well to shed some salary cap in this deal as well, with Elvis Merzlikins and Miles Wood both going back to Toronto. Wood recently cleared waivers and was not going to be on the opening night roster for Columbus, so the ability to flip he and the injured Merzlikins is a big win for the Blue Jackets.

The Right Now Grade

How does this impact the team right now? The return the Blue Jackets were able to get for a player, or set of players, the league knew they were looking to get rid of was a masterful job by GM Don Waddell.

He did wonderfully to return a 23-year-old power forward in Knies, a player this team has so badly needed to play more physical in big games late in the season, which they have squandered badly in recent seasons. They also added a two-way defensemen, in Andrae who could play a big role in the defensive pairings to open the season with Damon Severson and Dante Fabbro both starting the season injured.

The Blue Jackets will likely have Knies replace Marchenko on every line and unit that he played on, and he gives you more of a net front presence which will give Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson more space to work around the ice.

It is also a bargain for the Blue Jackets to land a much cheaper forward than what Marchenko would’ve cost them to re-sign to a long-term extension. With the expectation that they have quite a few players this upcoming offseason to pay, being able to lock up another piece of the core is a huge addition.

Granted the Blue Jackets lost their top goal scorer, and the most dynamic playmaker on their team, it is still a trade they had to make for the sake of their culture, and a great return they got for that deal.

Blue Jackets Grade for Right Now: B+

The Future Grade

The Blue Jackets win this trade in a big way for the future and one of the biggest pieces as to why is because of the salary cap implications. They were able to gain control for the next five seasons at a very manageable $7.75 million per season.

They also were able to get out of the contract of Elvis Merzlikins, and a bad contract for Miles Wood. They will also have plenty of cap space at the end of the season to ink their Norris Trophy winning defenseman Zach Werenski to a massive extension, as well as other extremely important RFA’s.

Matthew Knies, acquired by CBJ, is a top-six power forward who brings a skilled complementary game. Big and very sturdy, effective at the wall and net-front. Great shot and tips pucks well too. Play dipped through injuries last season but flashed some playmaking improvements. pic.twitter.com/FaTsPfzQ1q
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) September 28, 2026

They also get to sport a full top line of Big Ten players with Knies coming from the University of Minnesota, and Fantilli and Johnson coming from the University of Michigan. They will hope that top line can produce for many years to come, as the oldest player on that line is Knies, at just 23-years-old.

If Columbus can get what they are hoping for from Knies, and Lorentz and Andrae can give them any production as well, it will be a huge win. The biggest plus will be for what he brings in the two-way game, which is going to be a huge advantage in the Rick Bowness style, where he asks forwards to be defensively responsible.

Blue Jackets Grade for the Future: A-

The team opens the season on Thursday night, Oct. 1 against the Buffalo Sabres at home at Nationwide Arena, but more importantly, the Toronto Maple Leafs first meeting in Columbus will be Oct. 20. The first night of Marchenko returning to Nationwide Arena, we will see how the fans react to his return.

This article first appeared on The Hockey Writers and was syndicated with permission.

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