It’s hardly a secret that the Montreal Canadiens are looking to add a top-six forward. That’s a narrative that’s been in the pipeline for quite a while now.
But now, there’s an interesting rumor that could lead to a late-summer stunner.
According to Daria Tuboltseva of RG Media, the Columbus Blue Jackets are looking to move forward Kirill Marchenko. The report states that an unnamed source has confirmed a deal could be imminent.
“Kirill is essentially between two teams right now. The parties are now negotiating the terms of the trade.”
That shouldn’t be a surprise. Marchenko’s name has been on the trade block for a while. The 26-year-old is heading into the final year of his current three-year, $11.5 million deal. And it’s precisely because of that that the Blue Jackets are looking to move him. The team likely knows it won’t be able to re-sign him, so a trade seems like the best way out.
The other team in question, however, appears to be the Canadiens. Tuboltseva linked a comment by fellow RG journalist Marco D’Amico who claimed that the Habs have Marchenko in their sights.
There’s certainly credit to D’Amico’s comments. In his fourth full season, Marchenko has continued to put up solid numbers. His 27 goals and 67 points were a slight downtick from 2024-25’s 31 goals and 74 points.
If the Canadiens were to land Marchenko, it would fill a significant hole. While the Habs would prefer a center, the next best thing would be a scoring winger like Marchenko.
Friedman Discussed Canadiens’ Interest in Marchenko
A notable insider, Elliotte Friedman, initially discussed the Canadiens’ interest in Marchenko. During his end-of-year four-hour podcast, Friedman dropped an interesting tidbit about the Habs’ looking to add a top-six forward, with Marchenko being a main target.
“The one bit of frustration for the Canadiens… they are still trying to sort out, could they find a younger, top-six forward, like somebody in their 20s? And they would be aggressive, like really aggressive, and I think Marchenko would potentially be one of those players.”
While Friedman shot down the rumor at the time, bear in mind that the podcast dropped on July 6. A lot could have changed in about three weeks. Perhaps the Blue Jackets held on to the hope of extending him.
But now, it might just be that the organization has given up and is looking to move him before potentially losing Marchenko for nothing.
What Could Montreal Give up for Marchenko?
The biggest question moving forward would be what the Canadiens would be willing to give up for Marchenko. It’s implausible that the club would be willing to part with someone like Oliver Kapanen.
Everyone talks about Kapanen, with several teams wanting him as part of any deal. But the Canadiens just aren’t doing that. So, that might leave one of the Habs’ lower-tier prospects like Filip Mesar or Bryce Pickford up for grabs.
One interesting name to watch, however, could be Arber Xhekaj. The enforcer is an RFA at the moment. There hasn’t been much movement on that front, with chatter suggesting several teams are interested.
Could the two main pieces be Marchenko and Xhekaj? It will take a lot more than just Xhekaj to pluck Marchenko away from Columbus. But he could be one of the pieces the Canadiens are dangling in front of the Blue Jackets.
The only other issue would be sorting out Marchenko’s new contract. The deal likely depends on an extension, but that’s a story for another day.
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