Blue Jackets RFA Kirill Marchenko Still Awaiting Offer

The Columbus Blue Jackets are entering the dog days of July with a long list of chores still not done, including four remaining restricted free agents. New general manager Don Waddell has shared that the team is solely focused on finding their next head coach, but the dragging negotiations have started to get to forward Kirill Marchenko, who voiced his unease to Daria Tuboltseva of Responsible Gambling. Marchenko said he hasn’t yet spoken with Waddell, adding, “I haven’t received any worthy offers yet, so I can’t say for sure… I’m considering both a long-term and a bridge contract, but I prefer the process to move faster.”

Marchenko went on to describe the 2023-24 season as up-and-down, both in his feelings with the Blue Jackets and his performance on the ice. He managed a career year despite the mixed feelings, recording a team-leading 23 goals and a third-ranked 42 points in 78 games. It was his first full year with the Blue Jackets, after spending last season – his first year in North America – split between the NHL and AHL lineups. He showed off unusually high goal-scoring as a rookie as well, potting 21 goals and just four assists through his first 59 NHL games.

And while Marchenko improved that imbalance this year, he’s still hard to project beyond next season. On the one hand, he’s managed two 20-goal seasons in the first two years of his career – impressive for any rookie, especially one on the desolate Blue Jackets. But he’s also shooting at a gaudy 13.6 percent through 137 career games, tied with Patrik Laine for the highest of any active Blue Jacket. Columbus signed a heap of prospects to entry-level deals at the end of the season, including Gavin Brindley and Luca Del Bel Belluz, who received their NHL debuts. That burgeoning prospect pool gives Waddell a unique challenge ahead – with plenty of young and promising forwards deserving ice time and core pieces Kent Johnson, Cole Sillinger, and Marchenko still left unsigned.