Adam Fantilli didn’t dance around the Kirill Marchenko trade.
With Marchenko back in the conversation ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets’ matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night, Fantilli made it clear where he stood on the situation.
“Happy we got guys who want to be here,” Fantilli said. “It would have been a nightmare having a guy that didn’t want to be here all year. I’m glad we got that trade done when we did.”
Marchenko had requested a trade from Columbus before the 2026-27 season, and there was real uncertainty about whether the Blue Jackets would move him before the regular season opened. On the eve of the campaign, general manager Don Waddell made a major deal with Toronto, sending Marchenko, goaltender Elvis Merzlikins and forward Miles Wood to the Maple Leafs for Matthew Knies, Steven Lorentz, defenseman Emil Andrae and a conditional 2027 second-round draft pick.
The trade has worked out well for Toronto through the opening stretch. Marchenko has posted four goals and six assists for 10 points in the Leafs’ first 10 games, which puts him third on the team in both goals and assists. Knies, meanwhile, made an immediate splash for Columbus, scoring two goals and three points in his debut, though he has gone scoreless over the last five games.
Fantilli’s comments also stood out because Marchenko wasn’t the only player who had wanted out of Ohio this summer. Zach Werenski also requested a trade, though the Norris Trophy winner later reversed course and said he planned to stay with the Blue Jackets for the long haul.
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Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Easton Cowan and Jack Roslovic all found the net for the Maple Leafs, adding to a scoreboard that kept changing and kept the home side chasing. The late-stage frustration only grew as Toronto picked up another milestone moment in the process, leaving Columbus with little comfort beyond a few bright spots in a game that never settled down. [Read more 🡒]
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For Columbus, the intrigue is less about the Penguins direction and more about where a name like Rakell could surface if Pittsburgh decides to shop him before the deadline. Previous trade talks around him went nowhere, and the Penguins are said to be looking for a sensible return rather than simply taking the first offer, so this may not move quickly. Still, with Pittsburgh open to changing course and a veteran scorer on the block, it is the kind of storyline that can ripple beyond one division and into conversations the Blue Jackets have to watch closely. [Read more 🡒]