Confirmed with Link: Kirill Marchenko signs 3 year, 3.85M AAV

[Theo Von]

Another low risk/high return deal by Waddell. I'm not sold on Marchenko like many others are but this seems like about as low as the CBJ could go to get something done.

Sillinger should be child's play for the front office now. 3rd line centers need not rock the boat.

me personally, i’m way way way more sold on marchy than KJ

 

[Cyclones Rock]

me personally, i’m way way way more sold on marchy than KJ

I"m sold on Marchenko as a 20 goals scorer in the NHL. I'm just not sold on him going to the next level.

KJ has a lot to prove to justify his 5 overall draft choice.

 

[JacketFanInFL]

Good to have a savvy negotiator who's not afraid to let someone else blink first.

 

[NotWendell]

Fantilli is the only prospect we have that I am reasonably confident will be a top player in this league. We have a lot of "could be" stars though.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

I think Marchenko’s floor is a 3rd line scoring winger who can give you 20+ goals. His upside is a first liner who can give you 30+. That’s pretty solid.

 

[tunnelvision]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5660396/2024/07/28/blue-jackets-marchenko-contract-evason/?source=emp_shared_article

Waddell was really impressed with what he heard: unanimous praise about Marchenko’s attitude, commitment and role within the dressing room.

“What came back from everybody is that this is a very good person, a good teammate,” Waddell said. “He’s driven. He’s motivated from within to get better, and he really has a positive effect on those around him.

Waddell also watched a significant amount of video on Marchenko. The goals — 44 combined in his first two seasons — jump off the film, of course, but so did some attributes on the other end of the ice.

“(New coach) Dean (Evason) is really going to help a guy like this,” Waddell said. “We have to make him a better 200-foot player. If you’re going to be a player who is going to score a lot of goals, you’re going to get paid a lot of money. You have to be a 200-foot player.

“What I saw in a few instances is that he could have been better in his own zone. Those are teachable components. A coach can’t teach you how to score goals, but they can teach you how to play defense.

“I do really like his offensive instincts, for sure. He has a bigger body, can protect the puck. He’s still a young player, and with the right players around him and the right coaching staff, I think this is going to be a really good player in a short amount of time.”

I like what he seems to think of Marchenko and what they are planning for his development.

Hopefully Waddell is watching "a significant amount of video" on Sillinger as well before signing him.

 

[NotCommitted]

Seems like a good deal. I'm not sure how much more upside Marchenko has, he's 24 so while that's not old, he's not really going to gain anything by default from just becoming a man. But it wouldn't be unusual (especially for an euro guy) to take a significant step in their mid-20s. Also last years team was not easy to put up numbers in, so his statline would probably get a decent boost just from the team becoming better even if Marchenko stayed exactly the same himself.

I mean Gaudreau was a 60 point guy with the 23-24 Jackets... and while some of that was just him not playing his best hockey and especially failing to convert chances, it was his worst season ever in terms of points/82 and he was still the best forward in the team by P/GP by some margin. It would've been interesting to see Laine play a meaningful amount of games to get some context, but I don't think he would've been P/GP in that team even if he was playing really well. I think it was just a really tough environment to score a lot of points in.