3 Potential Trade Destinations For Blue Jackets' Kirill Marchenko
Kirill Marchenko had to listen to trade rumors all offseason, and it turns out they were for good reason. The Columbus Blue Jackets forward isn't interested in staying in Columbus long term, and prefers to be traded.
Marchenko had 27 goals, 40 assists, 67 points and a plus-7 rating in 76 games last season, so there's going to be a ton of interest, it just depends if the Blue Jackets are going to wait this out until March's trade deadline or not.
With training camps opening this week, Marchenko was put in a tough spot answering questions about his future. It became clear as day that the Russian forward wasn't interested in hanging around long term and signing a contract extension. The 26-year-old is owed $3.8 million AAV this season, he doesn't hold any trade protection, and he's a pending restricted free agent. When asked this week about his future, “Where do you want to play hockey?” Marchenko quickly fired back: “On the ice.”
As far as potential destinations go for a deal, the Vancouver Canucks are interested as Marchenko is a top-six forward they can build around. Don't expect to see the Blue Jackets move Marchenko in the Eastern Conference, as that's a move that could certainly come back to haunt them.
Two other teams in the Western Conference that have been linked include the Los Angeles Kings, as the Kings have been searching for more offense all summer long, and would be a great fit for the scoring winger. Lastly, the Seattle Kraken. They've taken huge stabs at big name forwards including Artemi Panarin and Jason Robertson, and with Marchenko not having any trade protection, there's certainly an easier pathway to the finish line of a deal.
Kraken, Canucks, or Kings - where does Marchenko end up? What we do know, he's not interested in signing an extension in Columbus.