Kirill Marchenko and Rick Bowness are now staring at Columbus' most dangerous contract fight of the summer.
The spark here is not only Kevin Weekes floating Pavel Dorofeyev as a possible contract comparable. It is Jim Matheson pushing back hard and saying Marchenko simply does not belong in that lane.
That matters because the numbers give the argument real edge. NHL.com lists Marchenko at 27 goals and 40 assists for 67 points in 76 games in 2025-26.
Those are strong numbers. But Dorofeyev's side of the comparison is heavier. NHL.com shows he scored 37 goals and 64 points in 82 games, then added 10 goals in 19 playoff games.
That is where Matheson's point lands. Over the last 2 regular seasons, Marchenko scored 58 goals. Dorofeyev scored 72 across that same stretch, and his playoff finish gives his case even more teeth.
So if Marchenko's camp really is looking at Dorofeyev's 11 million AAV as a benchmark, Columbus has every reason to flinch. PuckPedia lists Dorofeyev on a 7-year, 77 million contract, and that number changes the whole temperature around Marchenko's next deal.
Marchenko is entering the final season of a 3-year contract worth 3.85 million per year, so the raise was always coming. The question is whether the ask is now climbing into a tier Columbus does not want to meet.
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Kirill Marchenko's next contract is becoming a massive problem
This is where the Blue Jackets get squeezed. Marchenko is 25, productive, and one of the club's best finishers, so walking away from him would open a real hole.
But paying him like Dorofeyev would mean betting that his next jump is still coming, not just rewarding what he already did. That is a very different call.
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Bowness is trying to steady a team that finished strong late, and Columbus does not need another major distraction hanging over one of its top forwards going into camp.
That is why Matheson's pushback matters. He is not saying Marchenko is not good. He is saying the comp is too rich, and that may be exactly what Don Waddell is wrestling with behind the scenes.
If the ask stays closer to Dorofeyev money, this gets harder fast. If Columbus can drag it back toward a number that fits Marchenko's actual résumé, the deal still makes sense.
Right now, that is the whole file. Kirill Marchenko earned a big raise, but the Blue Jackets do not sound ready to pretend Pavel Dorofeyev's contract should be the blueprint.
Should the Blue Jackets refuse to use Pavel Dorofeyev as a Kirill Marchenko comparable?
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