Kirill Marchenko's name is out there again, and Don Waddell isn't hiding from it this Monday.
The Columbus Blue Jackets general manager confirmed teams have called about the winger, but he's not giving him away.
"He's a player under contract, we control the situation, like with every player under contract," Waddell said, per Brian Hedger of The Columbus Dispatch.
That's a GM drawing a line in the sand. Not denying interest. Not pretending the phone isn't ringing.
Marchenko is coming off a 76-game season with 27 goals, 40 assists and 67 points, a plus-7 rating that stands out on a team that finished the year even on goal differential.
He carries a cap hit of $3,850,000, the kind of number that makes him a value piece on paper and a magnet for calls around the league.
Columbus finished 40-30-12 with 92 points, but stumbled down the stretch, going 2-7-1 over their last 10 and dropping their last outing 1-2 to the Washington Capitals.
Why any Marchenko trade has to tilt in Columbus favor
Waddell's message was blunt. "If we're going to make a deal, it's going to be a deal that helps the Columbus Blue Jackets," he said, according to Hedger's reporting.
That's not a GM fishing for offers. That's a GM setting the terms before anyone else does, which tells you Columbus feels no urgency to move him.
Trading a 26-year-old who just posted a career high in points, on a below-market deal, would need a return that actually moves the needle for a franchise still finding its identity under head coach Rick Bowness.
Bowness took over in Columbus back in January, and how he uses Marchenko down the stretch could shape whatever leverage Waddell thinks he has.
Here's the thing about GMs who say "every player is available." It usually means nobody specific is walking out the door cheap.
Would Columbus really flip a 67-point winger locked up at under $4 million just to appease outside interest? Doesn't add up.
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Other teams keep calling. Waddell keeps answering the same way. Until the price gets stupid, Marchenko isn't going anywhere, and that standoff is exactly what makes this one worth watching.
Should the Columbus Blue Jackets trade Kirill Marchenko this offseason?
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