Blue Jackets GM Waddell Speaks Out on RFA Marchenko Talks

It was just a few days back that Columbus Blue Jackets restricted free agent Kirill Marchenko made his frustrations known about not receiving a "worthy" contract offer yet. Now team GM Don Waddell has spoken his piece on the matter.

Appearing on the Rothman & Ice podcast, Waddell suggested that handing Marchenko a long-term deal at this point isn't good for either party:

The problem with a long-term deal is what's the upside if he was taking a deal that we were comfortable with? ... We all think there's upside here, but we don't know what the ceiling is, so it's a catch-22 for both of us (refering to Marchenko's agent Dan Milstein).

What he's really suggesting is that one side could regret a long-term deal at this point: If they settle on a number, and Marchenko doesn't follow up on the promise he's shown in his first two seasons, the Blue Jackets would be out of luck. And if the player has a huge breakthrough, then his camp would be unhappy.

"You better be careful because one of us could be burned pretty badly, or we both could be happy with it," explained Waddell. "So I think as we sit here today, I think a short-term, shorter-term deal, probably a two-year deal makes the most sense. Because if he becomes the player that he feels he can, then he'll get rewarded, and he'll get paid. I think that's the best way to look at it."

Talks are ongoing, and an arbitration hearing is set for July 31st. Waddell feels they'll be able to avoid that with the short-term agreement he's suggested.

The 24-year-old Russian forward has begun his NHL career with back-to-back 20+ goal seasons, this past year posting 23 markers along with 19 assists for 42 points in 78 games.