Waddell: Marchenko a Blue Jacket Today, ‘Not Contemplating Anything Right Now’ – The Hockey Writers – Columbus Blue Jackets

The noise surrounding the Columbus Blue Jackets and Kirill Marchenko carried on most of the summer ever since the initial report from Kevin Weekes suggesting that the star winger wouldn’t sign an extension with the team. That has left many wondering what’s still going on with this situation.

While Zach Werenski’s situation has calmed down since reaffirming his commitment to the Blue Jackets, the same cannot be said for Marchenko at this time. With just over a week to go until the team opens training camp, this will be a situation that’s worth monitoring.

Waddell Not Contemplating Anything ‘Right Now’

Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell spoke to the Hockey Writers on Wednesday morning for our annual preseason Q&A that will drop in the coming days. He directly addressed where things stand with Marchenko.

“I have talked to him directly,” Waddell said of Marchenko. “I’ve always said, I’m not opposed to trading anybody. But that trade’s got to help the Columbus Blue Jackets. And if there’s a trade for him or any other player that makes sense for us, we’re going to look at it. That’s my job everyday.”

“So, as we sit here today, he’s a member of the Blue Jackets and we’ll see how this all plays out.”

This is the kind of situation that could potentially become a distraction if not handled properly. Waddell believes it won’t become a distraction for his team.

“I don’t think it will (become a distraction) because Kirill, first of all, he’s a professional,” Waddell said. “He’s a player that’s playing for his next contract which is going to be a big one for him. If he starts here, I don’t anticipate it being (a distraction.) He’s already here. He’s working out with the guys. That’s always a good sign.”

“We’ll deal with it as we go along here and if there’s no trade that ever happens, then we’ll have to sit down and just talk through it and tell him why. That’s all I can say.”

Waddell said that teams continue to call him about Marchenko. But there is nothing imminent that he is considering right now.

“I’ve gotten calls, obviously,” Waddell said. “I got to listen to teams when they call me. That’s part of my daily routine. If someone calls me and wants to talk about what they want to offer … but as we sit here today (Wednesday morning), I don’t have anything. I’m not contemplating anything right now.”

To this point, Marchenko or his agent Dan Milstein have not said anything on the record about this or where things stand from their perspective. We’ll see if Marchenko chooses to address things at the start of training camp.

But based on Waddell’s words, this story could still go either way as to if a trade will materialize or not. Stay tuned.