Chris Johnston
speaker
1,699 appearances
20 recordings
4 series
first heard Jan 2026
last heard 16 Sep
Chris Johnston’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
Trend
recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 20 in all, peaking in May 2026 with 4.
Appearances
Yeah, that sounds right.
And and you know, something to keep in mind, I mean, obviously this is mainly built around Nice and Marchenko from evaluating the the players here, but but you know, the Ju Blue Jackets did have some cap challenges.
The Leafs are at the roster limit in terms of the number of contracts they have, so you know, it ended up being a little more complex to make all the the numbers fit and work uh in this trade.
Well, I think the the roster deadline that just passed at five o'clock was a big driver because, you know, the the Blue Jackets did need some flexibility.
They get that by, you know, including Merslikins and Miles Wood in the deal.
And, you know, my understanding is the Leafs were pretty aggressive here in their pursuit of Marchenko.
You know, the the Blue Jackets were at one point um committed to to having him play out the year.
He did have one year remaining on his deal.
Uh he was restricted free.
Agent to be next summer.
Obviously that's off the books now because the Leafs have extended them to a six year contract as part of this trade.
But you know, I think Toronto saw an opportunity to to get what they believe is a real upgrade for their top line, someone that I would expect is going to slot in right alongside Austin Matthews.
And and you know, I think they upped their pursuit to to make it happen.
And you know, at at the end of the day, the blue jackets I think got to a point where they were
maybe a little concerned about, you know, what what would happen with Marchenko so openly not wanting to be there.
Um, you know, that that maybe keeping him around might have some some counter effects and obviously the ability to get a player that slots right in their own lineup right now with Matthew Nice, you know, ultimately that uh that got it across the line.
Well, it definitely started with the previous front office.
I mean, they they were reasonably close to to moving 'em at the trade deadline.
I think at that point in time, you know, it's amazing to think how much has changed even since early March for the Leafs.
You know, winning uh the the draft lottery with McKenna has changed some things, but at that point in time they were focused on trying to restock the cupboards and you know, explored whether that was a way to get it done.
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