The Toronto Maple Leafs have emerged as a major suitor in the pursuit of Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kirill Marchenko.
One of the hottest rumors leading up to this season has been the purported interest around the league in the Russian forward. And while the Blue Jackets would be amenable to trading the impending RFA, there could be an interesting complication that could get in the way of a deal between the Leafs and Blue Jackets.
In Monday’s edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast, Elliotte Friedman discussed how the Blue Jackets are asking teams interested in Marchenko to take back a contract the organization would like to shed as part of the overall price tag.
“I have wondered if one of the things that Columbus is going here is saying, ‘all right, if you want Marchenko, would you take Miles Wood or Voronkov or something like that?’”
So, it seems that if the Maple Leafs really wanted Marchenko, they’ll have to take on a contract that Columbus would rather get out from under. The situation, however, does not seem conducive for Toronto to take on a problem contract. The Leafs just don’t have the cap space to add a cap dump, unless there was some way the organization could get out from under it.
Voronkov, Wood Would Be Steep Price to Pay for Maple Leafs
It’s not uncommon for teams to condition trading certain players by attaching contracts they don’t want to them. That’s been a common practice over the years. Nevertheless, it limits the number of teams a deal could happen.
In Toronto’s case, taking on Dmitri Voronkov of Miles Wood is just out of the question.
Now, Voronkov is actually a decent forward. The 26-year-old scored 17 goals in 63 games last season. The problem is that he comes with a $4.175 million cap hit. He’s in the final year of his current deal, and, well, it doesn’t look like Columbus would like to keep him. Voronkov would actually be a decent addition for the Maple Leafs, but certainly not at that price tag. So, that’s that.
As for Wood, he was once a solid bottom-six forward for the Colorado Avalanche. That’s why they signed the 31-year-old to a six-year deal back in 2023. However, his $2.5 million cap hit sort of got in the way, making him part of the camp-dump deal that sent him with Charlie Coyle to Columbus a couple of summers ago.
Wood found himself on waivers last week. He cleared, showing that there’s not much interest in the rugged forward after scoring eight goals and 14 points in 54 games last season.
It’s No Wonder Why Toronto Isn’t Willing to Make Marchenko Just Yet
The complication that Friedman brought up might seem more of a temporary thing. If the Blue Jackets were able to dump either contract, or both, it might make trading Marchenko a bit more feasible for the Maple Leafs.
But if Columbus is serious about attaching either one, or both, of these contracts to any Marchenko trade, it may take a while before any team seriously considers pulling the trigger on a deal like this.
Maple Leafs Face New Hurdle in Marchenko Pursuit