Kirill Marchenko's latest action is further proof his time in Columbus is over

His profile bio still reads Columbus Blue Jackets 86.

That gap matters more than the unfollow itself.

Changing a bio is the loud, deliberate move a player makes when he wants a message received. The unfollow is the cheap one, and it is the only one Marchenko has made.

Unfollowing the league office is the part nobody has explained. A player frustrated with Columbus has no reason to drop the NHL's account too.

Marchenko is entering the final year of a three-year deal worth $11.55 million dollars, carrying a $3.85 million cap hit.

Next summer he becomes an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent, still one year from unrestricted free agency.

That status gives him almost no real leverage. He cannot sign elsewhere, and a holdout would cost him money without buying him freedom.

Social media is the only lever available to a player in that position. That is exactly why it means so little.

Zach Werenski went through the same rumor churn weeks ago, declined a move to the Dallas Stars, and stayed. Same team, same offseason, same fan sleuthing, and no trade.

Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reported Columbus has not fielded calls on Marchenko since early in the summer.

General manager Don Waddell said in early July that Marchenko would be a Blue Jacket when the season starts.

None of that makes a trade impossible. It makes the Instagram evidence worth close to nothing on its own.

Marchenko led the Blue Jackets with 27 goals last season and finished second in scoring behind Werenski.

Watch the bio line, not the following count.

When that changes, so does the story.

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