Kirill Marchenko chose his path, so lets give him a warm 5th Line welcome tonight

In a span of fewer than four months, Kirill Marchenko went from beloved Blue Jacket, to current public enemy #1 within the 5th Line. This afternoon, some of his former teammates shared similar sentiments. There is no love left in Columbus for #86.

One of the biggest things holding back the Blue Jackets throughout their existence, has been a severe lack of talent sticking around town. Whether it was mis-managing Ray Whitney, acquiring a guy (or another guy) that simply didn't really want to be here, or forcing the franchise's first superstar out of town because they could not build any sort of talent pool around him; it has been a problem.

Marchenko is just the latest in a stream of high-end players that have opted to leave Columbus for what they assume to be greener pastures. Or, in his case, I suppose one could say icier landscapes.

When the team left for their summer vacation in April, everything seemed well and fine. Rick Bowness ranted about the culture that was going on behind the scenes here. To many within the fanbase, it was music to our ears.

For the most part, the players seemed to accept his words as motivation. Everyone departed with the goal of coming back in better shape, more prepared for a full season under the man we know as Bones.

This felt like the biggest summer in franchise history, with our main focus being speculation upon what assets Don Waddell might acquire to round out this special thing he has been slowly building. Instead, that all fell apart in late June.

Amidst rumors about Zach Werenski's long-term plans, the fanbase-and the organization, as we later found out-were blindsided by Kevin Weekes' big mouth as the Blue Jackets prepared to make their first round pick at the NHL Draft: Kirill Marchenko wants out.

As I wrote at the time, this is definitely the one that hurt. From a Werenski trade perspective, I don't think many of us could blame a guy who is nearing the end of his prime. He's at the top of his game, and as an elite player; maybe waiting another year, or two, or even three for his shot at a Stanley Cup, just might not make sense.

And, with Denton Mateychuk on the roster, as well as Jackson Smith looking promising (don't even let me mention Guillaume Richard); I think a lot of us felt that this move wouldn't cripple this organization like it once might have.

Couple that all with the possible return, and it honestly seemed like something that could work out for all sides involved. But, Marchy wanting out? Man, that one just did not make sense. It still doesn't.

Kirill could have set new marks in Columbus.

At 26 years old, Marchy was the play driver for the top line of the Blue Jackets. Even in what many would consider disappointing years, he finished the last two with 74 and 67 points. He was only off of the franchise record in scoring by 13 points two years ago.

Any meaningful step forward by this team this season, probably would have given him the opening to march right beyond that mark. If he had signed a contract extension here similar to the one he just signed in Toronto; he almost certainly would have shattered this team's franchise record for career points.

Instead, he chose to leave. For whatever reason. The thing that really stings is that he didn't even have the cojones to tell us why. He simply put his head down and nervously swayed when the local media asked him about it.

Rather than stick around and help build something on his own, he took the coward's way out. He chose to play in a place where he will almost certainly be ran out of town the moment his play withers down the stretch, as I'm sure it will. A place where he will be an afterthought within just a few years.

So, tonight, I would encourage you to keep all of this in mind as he takes to the ice. I know his former teammates will. In a few years, he will probably be lost to history, forgotten in the annuls of Toronto hockey history like so many others.

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