“A nightmare”: Adam Fantilli didn’t want Kirill Marchenko anymore

Marc-Olivier Cook
“A nightmare”: Adam Fantilli didn’t want Kirill Marchenko anymore
Credit: Ben Jackson/Getty Images

The past few weeks in Columbus have been… complicated.

The Zach Werenski situation has been the talk of the town; we had to wait a while before Adam Fantilli signed, and the Kirill Marchenko situation has also shaken up the organization in some ways.

You can't exactly say everything is rosy in Ohio right now.

I don't know if Fantilli is upset because of his team's (poor) start to the season, but he dropped a bombshell today—as the Leafs and the Blue Jackets are set to face off tonight for the first time since the Knies/Marchenko trade.

Basically, the Jackets' young star forward didn't mince words when talking about his former teammate… saying he was happy to see Marchenko leave for Toronto:

Having a guy who didn't want to be here all season would have been a nightmare. I'm glad that trade went through at that time. — Adam Fantilli

That's pretty direct… and pretty clear, too. 

It's funny, though…

Comments like these remind me of the Jets and Red Wings players, who have to deal with a similar situation. Dylan Larkin and Connor Hellebuyck want to leave the team: it's hard, after all, to want to give it your all on the ice for guys who don't even want to be there…

Adam Fantilli is right. And it's only natural for him to think that way, because Fantilli is becoming a leader in Columbus.

On the flip side, you have to wonder if he's forgotten that Zach Werenski wanted to leave this summer, too.

The defenseman's situation isn't the same anymore, but we can't change what's happened over the past few months in his case either… Anyway. 

Poor Blue Jackets fans. It must be tough to follow that team with such passion…


Quick Thoughts

– What do you think?

– Hehe.

– It happens, yeah.

– Yeah!

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