Despite trade rumours swirling around both Zach Werenski and Kirill Marchenko, it appears both will return to the Columbus Blue Jackets next season.
General manager Don Waddell declined to reveal Thursday whether Marchenko had requested a trade, but said he will not be moved this summer.
“I’ve had discussions with his agent, which we won’t discuss right now, but Marchenko is going to be a Blue Jacket when the season starts,” Waddell told reporters.
That update came one day after Werenski and the general manager both put out statements Wednesday that the reigning Norris Trophy winner was happy to return to the club after turning down a trade to the Dallas Stars via his no-move clause.
“The end result is this is what we wanted,” Wadell said Thursday of a trying time in which Werenski revealed he does not plan to re-sign in Columbus when his deal expires in 2028. “We didn’t want to have Zach go anywhere. When it came time to make a decision, he made it very clear to me, very directly and very passionately, that he wanted to be a Blue Jacket.”
Marchenko posted 27 goals and 67 points in 76 games last season with the Blue Jackets. He has topped 20 goals in each of his four seasons with the team, including finishing with a career-high 31 goals and 74 points during the 2024-25 season.
The 25-year-old winger has one year left on his contract at a $3.85 million contract and is scheduled for restricted free agency next summer.
He was selected by the Blue Jackets in the second round of the 2018 NHL Draft.
Werenski has also spent his entire career with Columbus after being selected eighth overall in the 2015 draft.
