Marchment makes excellent first impression with Blue Jackets

Mason Marchment arrived in Northern California on Friday with the Seattle Kraken.

Little did he know he’d be leaving the Golden State as a Columbus Blue Jacket.

Marchment was in San Jose on Friday getting ready to play the Sharks as a member of the Kraken when news broke that evening that he was being traded to Columbus ahead of the league’s holiday roster freeze.

That meant Saturday was a whirlwind, as Marchment woke up in San Jose, hopped a flight to Southern California where the Blue Jackets were set to face the Ducks, and then played in his first game with the CBJ less than 24 hours after the trade was made.

“It was nuts,” Marchment said. “I’ve obviously never been through anything like that before, but it’s a cool experience. Just roll with it and enjoy it.”

Not only that, Marchment made an excellent first impression with the Blue Jackets, becoming the 26th player in franchise history to score a goal in his CBJ debut. Playing on a line with Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson that led the Jackets in 5-on-5 ice time, he played 19:41 with three shots on goal while also taking a penalty and notching a hit.

He may also have endeared himself to the CBJ faithful with his reaction to his first goal in union blue, as he let out a scream so forceful that his gum fell out of his mouth – prompting Marchment to quicky pick it up and put it back in.

The goal itself was the kind of goal the Blue Jackets likely can expect from Marchment, as he got to the netfront and was in position to tip a shot by Damon Severson past Anaheim goalie Lukáš Dostál.

“Just try to drive it deep and get it back up to the point, and they did a great job of getting it through,” Marchment said. “I just got a little piece of her, and happy it went in.”

Goal-scoring ability is one thing Marchment can bring to the table, as he’s coming off consecutive 22-tally seasons with Dallas the past two years. Throughout his seven-year, 331-game career before the trade, Marchment had averaged 20 goals and 50 points per 82 games.

The 31-year-old was a power-play producer with the Stars the past two years, totaling 11 goals over that span, and has twice topped 100 hits in a season in his NHL career.

“He’s just a hockey player, right?” head coach Dean Evason said after the game. “He plays hard, plays the right way, does a lot of really good things. Certainly to come into a situation like that today, getting here at noon or whenever he got here, jumping in and playing as well as he did, he’s just a hockey player.”

Marchment brings a physical presence at 6-5, 212 pounds, and he’s not afraid to throw the body around and make life difficult in the corner for opposing players. That’s what intrigued CBJ captain Boone Jenner the most, as he called Marchment “a tough guy to play against” given their battles over the years, which included a six-point game for Marchment vs. the Blue Jackets back in 2022.

“It’s huge,” Jenner said. “Anytime (you can add) a guy like that who’s played for a while in the league and played in the playoffs, and he’s an established player that plays the game the right way. He’s difficult to play against. To have that on our side, it’s a good boost for us.”

The son of longtime NHLer Bryan Marchment, Mason was acquired for a pair of draft picks, giving the Blue Jackets immediate help as they try to work themselves back into the playoff race. It’s a signal from the CBJ front office that the belief is there that the Blue Jackets can get out of a recent slide and catch the teams in front of them.

“I think it’s important,” Evason said. “I think it’s important for the guys to see that we’re doing everything we can to have success. ... It’s important that the guys see that (general manager) Don (Waddell) and his crew are trying to make us a better hockey team.”

So what’s next for Marchment? He’ll play in game No. 2 with the Blue Jackets on Monday night, then get ready for the holidays as well as the process of moving to Columbus for the rest of the season.

“Honestly, I don’t even know what happens from here, but luckily I get to go home – well, not home, but back to Seattle,” he said. “Family is all there, so I get to spend some time with them, which is awesome.”