Blue Jackets president/general manager Don Waddell has refuted the report, saying it's been "weeks" since he's spoken with any general managers about Marchenko, whose agent, Dan Milstein, didn't reply to a text message from The Dispatch.
Milstein, however, has playfully interacted with fans about the report on Twitter/X.Quoting a fan who asked whether Milstein would be informed of a trade “to the Habs [Canadiens]” through a call or text message from Waddell, Milstein replied: “Can’t confirm or deny, but last I checked there were some pretty steep tariffs on exporting talent to or from Canada right now …”Milstein also replied to three other posts by fans, including a comment stating that, “replying to fans is still allowed under the CBA.”
None of Milstein’s posts dispel the report about a Marchenko trade, but neither Sportsnet, TSN nor ESPN have confirmed it and The Athletic refuted it July 26 in a Twitter/X post. The report was written by Daria Tuboltseva, who is based in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and has experience covering Russian hockey stars and athletes while they train during the offseason.
She has previously garnered exclusive interviews with former Blue Jackets stars Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin along with Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin.