Several NHL players want to leave their team, but refuse to address it

During the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft, a report emerged regarding Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kirill Marchenko and his unwillingness to sign a long-term contract extension with the team. It sent shockwaves through the league given that there was also some uncertainty around the team's best player, Zach Werenski, and because it was overshadowing the team's first-round pick. 

With the team opening training camp this week, the Columbus media had its first opportunity to speak with Marchenko and ask him about his desire to remain with the team. He was annoyingly flippant about it, dodging the questions with the same evasiveness that he would dodge opposing body checks.

It is continuing a summer-long trend of top NHL players trying to force their way into a new situation, but also pretending like the entire thing is not happening.

There is a growing number of unhappy NHL players, but they refuse to actually address it

Marchenko is in the final year of a contract that pays him $3.85 million per season, and will be eligible for restricted free agency following the 2026-27 season.

He will be an unrestricted free agent following the 2027-28 season if the team does not sign him to a long-term deal.

Along with the offseason report about his unwillingness to sign in Columbus, nothing about his press conference on Friday had to fill Blue Jackets fans with optimism about his future.

When asked about where he wanted to play hockey, he jokingly responded by saying "on the ice." 

That was followed by this bizarre exchange that was transcribed by The Athletic's Aaron Portzline.

There was one particularly pointed back-and-forth:

Do you like playing hockey here?

“I love playing hockey,” Marchenko said.

Here?

“(Laughs) It’s a good question. I can say yes because I play here for sure. But you know … I can answer only (about) hockey. I don’t want to say some things and give you bad information. My English (may) not (be) so good; I can say something wrong, and everybody will think differently. But I really love fans here, and I appreciate everybody.”

Portzline added that follow-up questions resulted in Blue Jackets PR intervening, while also noting that his agent, Dan Millstein, refused to offer any comment.

This exchange came just one day after Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin was equally evasive when being asked about his trade request, and whether or not it was still something he wanted. 

Larkin said he was not ready to talk about the situation or go into details, while adding he was not sure if he would ever be ready. He would also not address questions regarding how many teams he has submitted to the Red Wings as part of his no-trade list, all while looking completely petulant and disinterested at the podium. 

Larkin was the Red Wings' captain until the team stripped him of it, while he is not participating in the early stages of training camp due to a mysterious injury that apparently happened in the lead-up to training camp. 

This is all unfolding against the backdrop of Winnipeg Jets starting goalie Connor Hellebuyck being suspended by his team for not reporting to training camp due to his own trade demand. Outside of a public statement through his agent, he has also refused to speak on the request. 

Earlier this offseason, the Ottawa Senators traded their captain, Brady Tkachuk, to the Florida Panthers after he requested a trade and was only willing to accept a move to play alongside his brother, Matthew Tkachuk.

This is an era of player empowerment across all sports, and they are doing their part to take more control of where they play and live. And that's fine, especially if they are free agents or not contractually signed to teams. 

The problem with a lot of these examples is they are players in positions of leadership with their teams, or their team's best players, and are all locked into long-term deals that they willingly signed and negotiated. They are not only looking for ways out, but they are also (and this is especially true in the case of Larkin and Tkachuk) tying the hands of their teams in limiting where they will accept a trade. 

No-trade protections exist for a reason, and they are negotiated in. They can absolutely be used when a team tries to trade a player without their consent. 

But if you are going to request a trade, and only accept a move to a team that might not have the assets your current team wants or is willing to accept, you don't get to be a petulant brat about it. You don't get to sit out. You don't get to dodge questions and refuse to discuss it or pretend like it didn't happen. And if that is the path you want to take, you have to accept the criticism that comes with it and accept that you may not get exactly what you want.