Adam Fantilli didn’t waste time explaining why the Columbus Blue Jackets were relieved to move on from the Kirill Marchenko situation before the season opened.
Speaking Tuesday, Fantilli said the club was glad to resolve Marchenko’s future before it turned into a regular-season headache.
"Happy we got guys who want to be here," Fantilli said, per Blue Jackets reporter Dave Maetzold."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."
The trade went through a day before the regular season began, ending a messy stretch around Marchenko’s status with Columbus. He had been a pending restricted free agent before signing a six-year extension with the Maple Leafs after the deal. During training camp, Marchenko gave noncommittal answers about his future with the Blue Jackets, and summer reports had already suggested he wasn’t interested in an extension with the club.
Marchenko, a Blue Jackets second-round pick in 2018, produced 218 points in 302 games in Columbus.
The move also sent Matthew Knies to Columbus, and his name had been floating in trade chatter for months. He was almost dealt at last season’s trade deadline, and the rumors followed him through the summer. Knies said Tuesday he was caught off guard by the timing of the deal, which came on the eve of the regular season.
"Going into training camp, going through all the preseason games, the timing of it all, that's what shocked me," Knies told The Athletic's Joshua Kloke.
He added, "It just came up over and over and (the trade) felt like it was something they needed to do."
On the ice, the early returns have gone in different directions. Knies had four points in his first two games with the Blue Jackets, but he’s gone scoreless in his last five. Marchenko, meanwhile, has totaled 10 points in 10 games for Toronto, including a hat trick against the Buffalo Sabres last week.
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Karlsson is still producing offense in Pittsburgh, which is part of why the rumor has real legs, and the fit is easy enough to imagine for a Leafs team looking for immediate impact. The harder part is the price, and nothing has been settled yet, but this is the kind of conversation that tends to get louder once injuries force a contender to explore every possible option. [Read more 🡒]