Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews shared his reaction to the trade swapping Matthew Knies for Kirill Marchenko.
The Maple Leafs and Columbus Blue Jackets pulled off a true blockbuster trade on the eve of the NHL season when Knies, Steven Lorentz, Emil Andrade, and a second-round draft pick were sent to Columbus for Marchenko, Elvis Merzlikins, and Miles Wood.
Marchenko then inked a six-year, $75 million extension with Toronto, keeping him in “The Six” for the long term.
Auston Matthews Reacts to Trade
Speaking to reporters after the Maple Leafs lost 3-2 in their season opener at home against the rival Montreal Canadiens, Matthews shared his reaction to the big trade.
“He had such a big impact on the ice, off the ice. He’s a very unique player. One of the more popular, well-liked guys in the room. He’s a great personality, big personality. Loved to joke around. Great teammate. So, we’re gonna miss him. It’s the tough part of the business. Things like this happen sometimes, but that’s just the way things go. And we’re super-happy to welcome Kirill here, and I think he’s going to do very good things for us,” Matthews said
Kirill Marchenko Makes Immediate Impact for Maple Leafs
Although the Maple Leafs lost 3-2 to Montreal in their season opener, Marchenko had an immediate impact on the team as he looked like one of the best Maple Leafs players on the ice despite having very limited time to practice with the team, as he flew to Toronto overnight to get into town and get set up before his debut with his new team.
Playing 20:08 of ice time, Marchenko had one assist with four shots on net as he looked every bit the dangerous sniper that Maple Leafs fans were promised he would be.
Marchenko still needs some more time to gel with his new team, but based on how good he looked in his debut with Toronto, Maple Leafs fans could be in for a monster season from the Russian winger.
As for Knies, he makes his debut for Columbus on Thursday night against the Buffalo Sabres.
Auston Matthews Reacts to Matthew Knies/Kirill Marchenko Trade