Tuesday evening marked the return of former Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kirill Marchenko for the first time since he was traded late last month in a blockbuster deal to the Toronto Maple Leafs as part of a package involving Matthew Knies.
Marchenko is already hearing it from the crowd at Nationwide Arena, who are serenading him with loud boos every time he touches the puck. But as fate would have it, he had the perfect response to the fans booing him – scoring a goal.
Toronto Maple Leafs Forward Kirill Marchenko Silences Boos By Scoring In Nationwide Arena Return
Tuesday evening marked Marchenko’s return to Nationwide Arena for the first time since he was traded after he would not commit to staying with the Blue Jackets beyond this current season.
Despite Columbus taking a 1-0 lead in the early goings-on of the first period, it wouldn’t be long before Marchenko got a chance to silence the crowd booing him by scoring.
A centering pass deflected off his skate and past goaltender Jet Greaves while on the power play, knotting the score at 1-1 and giving Marchenko his fifth goal of the season.
So far, it’s been the ideal return of Marchenko to Columbus.
The Blue Jackets Made It Clear They Want Players Who Want To Remain In Columbus
Several of Marchenko’s former Blue Jackets teammates have thrown some subtle jabs at him by saying they would rather have players in that dressing room who want to be there.
“Happy we got guys who want to be here,” Adam Fantilli said. “It would have been a nightmare having a guy that didn’t want to be here all year. I’m glad we got that trade done when we did.”
Meanwhile, GM Don Waddell said that he never got a firm explanation on why Marchenko would not re-sign.
“Honestly, not a straight answer,” Waddell said. “You know, I had excuses, I guess, but not a straight answer. It’s probably a great question when he comes back in town. You can ask him. You always try to find the roots of the problem, and honestly, we never did find this one.”
Maple Leafs’ Kirill Marchenko Silences Boos With Goal