The Columbus Blue Jackets skated at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday. The Maple Leafs held an optional skate.
Kirill Marchenko wanted out of Columbus. On Tuesday night, he returns to the Ohio capital with his new team. And the 26-year-old Leafs winger isn’t sure how he’ll be welcomed back.
“I really appreciate fans in Columbus when I played there,” Marchenko told reporters following Monday’s win over the San Jose Sharks. “It will be awesome, good time, and I don’t want to say anything else because I don’t know what they will do. It’s not on me. It’s not my control right now. I just focus on my game.”
Marchenko led the Blue Jackets in goals in each of the last three seasons before making a messy exit from the franchise that drafted him in the second round in 2018.
The Jackets will be welcoming back Marchenko at some point during the first period, but there is no video tribute planned.
“I really don’t know what to expect,” said defenceman Zach Werenski. “I know he was a fan favourite when he was here. I’m sure they’re a little upset with how it ended. I’m sure they’ll voice it if they are.”
“I think it will be an exciting game,” said winger Mathieu Olivier. “I’m sure our fans will bring it.”
The blockbuster trade that sent Marchenko to the Leafs in exchange for a package that included Matthew Knies occurred on the eve of the season and emotions are still raw.
“It was upsetting the way he left, the way he wanted to leave,” said centre Adam Fantilli, who signed a six-year extension with the Jackets in September.
“Marchy not wanting to be here, like, it’s tough not to take it personally because I would’ve been playing with him all year and he didn’t want to be a part of that. But it is what it is. For whatever reasons, whether it was who he was going to play with, whether it was management, coaches, who knows, I haven’t gone in depth with him on that. He has his reasons. I’m happy we have guys who want to be here.”
Marchenko, who has 10 points in 10 games with the Leafs, has declined to reveal what led him to request out of Columbus. He signed a six-year extension with Toronto shortly following the trade.
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The Leafs traded Knies, who was the team’s second-round pick in 2021, after a summer of seemingly endless trade speculation. The big winger was just one year into his own six-year extension.
“I wish I could’ve experienced my time there a little bit longer but, you know, it happens,” the 24-year-old said.
Knies tried to tune out the rumours, but it wasn’t easy. General manager John Chayka actually apologized to the Arizona native for all the noise around him when he called to deliver the news about the trade.
“In this summer it just came up over and over and just felt like it was something they needed to do,” Knies said. “Yeah, I’m here now and that’s all I have to worry about.”
There was so much demand to hear from Knies on Tuesday morning that his media availability was moved to the news conference room where coach Rick Bowness usually meets the media.
“It’s a big night,” Fantilli said. “He loved it in Toronto. He loved his teammates. He seemed like he was a little bit blindsided by it even though there was some talk over the summer and whatnot. I know he still has a lot of love for guys over there. It should be a fun night for him.”
Knies is hoping that Tuesday’s game will bring about some closure.
“I’ve never experienced something like this, just looking across and seeing a lot of familiar faces,” he said. “But I think a lot of guys will tell you there’s no friends on the ice until after. And hopefully I’ll get to chat and say ‘Hi’ to some of the guys and wish them well. I didn’t get to talk to a lot of the guys with how abrupt everything happened so I’m excited to see those guys that I didn’t get to call or talk to and wish them well.”
Asked to name his favourite moment with the Leafs, Knies pointed to the John Tavares overtime goal in Game 6 of a first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2023 which clinched Toronto its first series win since 2004.
“I love those guys on that side,” said Knies, who was on the ice when Tavares scored. “I care a lot about those guys, but I have to turn the page now and focus on the guys here and focus on winning, focus on separating myself from them.”
It’s not an easy thing to do.
“Last night was my first night out of the hotel in Columbus so it feels like I’ve been on the road for a while now,” he said.
Knies, who will have his parents in the stands on Tuesday night, started hot with the Jackets with four points in two games, but has now gone five straight without a point.
“We’re doing a couple of different things than Toronto did and sometimes I see him lapsing into that,” Bowness observed. “‘OK, that’s not how we do it here.’ That’s our job as coaches to help him through that and then we’ll have a better feel.”
But Bowness likes a lot of what he’s seeing from his top line.
“They’re getting chances,” the coach said. “I think they’re on the cusp of going on a little bit of a run here.”
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What will it be like for Knies to face longtime linemate Auston Matthews?
“It’s not going to be easy,” he said with a grin. “It will be pretty interesting, you know. Playing alongside him for three years and now playing across from him, it’s different. It’s going to be exciting, it’s going to be fun. I think he’ll say the same thing in the sense that it’s not going to be easy against each other. We’ll see. I’ll let you know after the game how it goes.”
Matthews is off to a hot start. He scored again Monday and now has seven goals in 10 games. The Leafs captain is on pace for 59 goals after being held to a career-low 27 last year (in 60 games).
“Not surprised,” said Werenski, who won gold with Matthews at the Milan Olympics. “When you do it as consistently as he has his whole career, you know, it’s just who he is. That’s just the type of player he is. He’s one of the best players in the world. He should be in that conversation every single season. Even the years he’s having an off year he almost has a goal every other game. He’s great defensively, blocks hosts, wins face-offs, he does it all out there, so definitely not surprised how he’s started the season.”
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Matthews scored to tie Monday’s game with the Sharks and set the stage for winger Gavin McKenna, who scored the first game-winning goal of his career in the third period.
“You want to be a guy who’s known for those big moments,” the 18-year-old rookie said. “And when you get that time and an opportunity to be out there on the ice, you want to make the most out of it.”
McKenna’s goal was followed by an exuberant celebration.
“It’s a hard league to score in, so when you get to put one in the back of the net, it feels pretty good,” he told reporters with a grin.
Werenski watched the game from Columbus in preparation for Tuesday’s tilt.
“Seems like he’s off to a good start,” the reigning Norris Trophy winner said of the reigning first-overall pick. “He had a great goal last night, very skilled play. Still only 18-years-old, which is incredible. He’s in for a very, very bright future and excited to see him grow.”
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Defenceman Nick Blankenburg stayed out for extra work during Toronto’s ice time on Tuesday morning and projects to be a healthy scratch in Columbus. Marshall Rifai is poised to draw in and play his second game of the season.
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Blue Jackets lines at Tuesday’s skate:
Knies - Fantilli - Johnson
Nichushkin - Monahan - Voronkov
Sillinger - Coyle - Olivier
Lomberg - Del Bel Belluz - Garland
Werenski - Severson
Christiansen - Mateychuk
Andrae - Gudbranson
Greaves starts