Kirill Marchenko blossomed into one of the league’s most potent offensive performers in his first four NHL seasons, all with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
However, Marchenko reportedly was searching for greener pastures, and following an offseason trade to Toronto, he returns to Columbus on Tuesday night, trying to help the Maple Leafs post back-to-back victories for the first time in the young season.
Marchenko scored at least 21 goals each season for Columbus, highlighted by a 31-goal, 43-assist performance in 2024-25. However, according multiple reports, Marchenko wanted out of Columbus before becoming a restricted free agent after the 2026-27 season.
The Blue Jackets made that happen, sending him to Toronto in a six-player, late-September deal. The Maple Leafs then signed Marchenko to a six-year, $75 million contract.
“He was a player that wasn’t willing to just go anywhere,” Toronto general manager John Chayka said at the time of the trade. “He wants to win.”
Though the Maple Leafs’ streak of nine straight playoff appearances ended last season, the Blue Jackets last reached the postseason in 2019-20. And his desire to leave Columbus likely will be remembered by the fans when he takes the ice on Tuesday.
As for his former club, the Blue Jackets are only looking forward.
“I respect what he wants to do, but as a team, we have to move on from that,” Columbus forward Mathieu Olivier said following the swap. “We have to move on from guys who don’t want to be here.”
Marchenko earned his sixth assist for Toronto during a 3-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Monday, a result that ended the Maple Leafs’ three-game losing streak (0-2-1). He has four goals and 10 points through his first 10 contests with his new club.
The Blue Jackets have lost three of their past four games. Following a 2-1 defeat at Minnesota from Sunday, Columbus has scored a total of two goals while splitting its past two contests.
Against the Wild, the Blue Jackets recorded a season-low 15 shots on goal. It was the second time in seven games this season that Columbus has been held to fewer than 20 attempts on target.
“We got to shoot the puck,” said Blue Jackets forward Adam Fantilli, who notched his second goal and third point of the season on Sunday. “We got to get pucks through. We got to be around the net. We’ve got to make life hard (for the opponent).”
On the positive side, Fantilli has six goals and two assists in nine career games versus Toronto. Teammate Matthew Knies, who came over in the Marchenko trade after totaling 124 combined points for the Maple Leafs the past two seasons, has two goals and two assists for his new team.
Columbus’ Jet Greaves, who boasts a 2.58 goals-against average in five games, stopped all 29 shots he faced in a 1-0 home victory over the New York Rangers on Saturday. Teammate Cam Talbot, who made 33 saves on Sunday, has a 3.61 GAA in his three 2026-27 starts.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 30 shots in Toronto’s Monday victory over the San Jose Sharks to record his second win in seven starts for his new team. According to Maple Leafs coach Jim Hiller, backup Anthony Stolarz, 2-1-0 with a 3.32 GAA, will get the start to complete the back-to-back set.