Grading the trade, Don Waddell pulled off a minor miracle for the Blue Jackets

With his back against the wall, Don Waddell had no choice. He had to trade Kirill Marchenko at some point, the only question was when. Every other team in the NHL knew it, and many were lining up with offers. That's exactly what made his maneuvering on Monday so impressive.

Many were speculating that a Marchenko trade would happen before the season-including Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, who mentioned the idea on the 32 Thoughts Podcast yesterday morning. In the end, he was right on every aspect.

In that episode, Elliotte talked about the potential of the Blue Jackets cutting away any potential cancer, as head coach Rick Bowness vowed to change this team's culture. He also mentioned the possibility that the Blue Jackets could tie a bad contract into this deal; even mentioning Miles Wood's name specifically.

Knowing those facts from the show, it feels like this deal was in the works for several days. It took right up until the final hour (final minutes), with both teams needing to turn their opening night rosters in by 5:00 Eastern time.

As usual, Waddell worked at his own pace, right up to the deadline, before pulling the trigger. And as usual, it is extremely difficult to find any fault in his reasoning. He did about as well as he could have, given the circumstances.

Update: closer to the deadline than we thought.

Don Waddell masterclass.

At every step of the way, Waddell was adamant that he wanted NHL talent in return for his disgruntled star winger. If he was going to deal Marchenko before the regular season, he had to get back players that could help this team right now. He was not making a deal centered around prospects or picks.

I mentioned yesterday that I don't expect this trade's centerpiece-Matthew Knies-to be a one-for-one replacement for Marchenko on the top line. However, at 23 years old, he's a little bit younger, signed for the next 5 seasons, and should be a strong supporting piece alongside Kent Johnson and Adam Fantilli on this team's top line.

In fact, I think there's a greater than zero chance that Knies becomes exactly what the Blue Jackets need to get the most out of both of those players. At 6'3" and over 230 pounds, he plays the game in straight lines, with good hands and a high motor. I like the way his style matches up alongside Fantilli, and if the two can generate any chemistry; they'll create a lot of space for Johnson to make plays.

Of course, losing Marchenko does detract from this team's overall scoring potential. Knies isn't as much of a play driver, so the onus of carrying and distributing the puck falls heavier onto the shoulders of Fantilli and Johnson. They will have to take those much-anticipated steps forward, if this team is going to score. Time will tell.

If it all works, I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that the Blue Jackets come out of this deal as a better team. Knies is a young, high-end power forward, with top line experience already. The Jackets are now a little younger, a little bigger, and they have some stability within their roster.

Meanwhile, I feel like the other pieces in this trade are getting overlooked. Emil Andrae also comes to Columbus, and he's a guy the analytics crowd absolutely loves. He likely steps right into a third pairing role for this team, and if he keeps up his play from last season, he should be a decent enough depth acquisition.

Also included, Steven Lorentz is a veteran fourth liner, with size, physicality, and about half of the AAV the team traded away in Miles Wood. He likely doesn't tip the scale much in Columbus, but he has played under Waddell before; so we know we can expect a quality human being here.

None of this even makes mention of the real artwork of this trade: in one swift deal, the Blue Jackets rid themselves of two of the worst contracts in the NHL. Wood was a required throw-in when the team acquired Charlie Coyle last summer.

While he brought some good traits, he's simply paid way too much money, for way too many years. Getting rid of that contract helps give this team some more flexibility. They also dump the final year of Elvis Merzlikins, without having to buy him out.

It had long been rumored that Elvis had played his final game in the Union Blue, and it now becomes official. The Jackets retain 18% on him, but they still free themselves of his contract. In total, they save almost $10 million dollars in actual cash by dumping both of these guys into this deal.

And don't forget: the Jackets also got a second round pick in this deal. What are the odds that this pick could turn into the next Kirill Marchenko, or Matthew Knies? Both of them were picked in that round of the draft.

When you take it all into account, from the return down through the facts of the trade, this is nothing short of a slam-dunk deal for the Blue Jackets. Even though they gave up a potentially elite scorer, they come out of this deal with one of the better young power forwards in the game, and some solid secondary pieces. It's a solid A- grade from us.

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