Kirill Marchenko signed a three-year, $11.55 million contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday. It has an average annual value of $3.85 million.
The forward, who was a restricted free agent, had a salary arbitration hearing scheduled for Wednesday.
“Kirill Marchenko has been an important player for the Blue Jackets during his first two NHL seasons, and reaching an agreement to keep him in Columbus was important to us,” Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell said. “He has size, skill and the ability to score goals and will continue to be a big part of our core group moving forward.”
Marchenko, who turned 24 on July 21, set NHL career highs in goals (23), assists (19) and points (42) in 78 games last season. He scored 21 goals as a rookie in 2022-23.
The Blue Jackets (27-43-12) finished last in the Metropolitan Division last season and have not qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the past four seasons. They hired Dean Evason as coach July 22, and signed forward Sean Monahan to a five-year, $27.5 million contract ($5.5 million AAV) on July 1.
