On X, the hockey rumor mill usually runs on the familiar hierarchy: Elliotte Friedman drops it, Chris Johnston confirms it, and everyone else scrambles to catch up. Between those moments, though, the platform is packed with fake insiders and anonymous accounts trying to turn chaos into clicks.
That’s what makes this one so strange.
A bot account with no voice, no sources, and no claim to inside access has found itself at the center of a possible NHL clue. The account is the NHL Follow Tracker, and all it does is monitor Instagram follows and unfollows from NHL players. Most of the time, it’s just digital cleanup - teammates following each other, players moving on from old teams, the usual offseason noise.
But with Kirill Marchenko’s situation still hanging out there, people are paying attention.
Marchenko’s future remains unsettled. Columbus doesn’t seem convinced he wants to stay, and Marchenko doesn’t seem fully sold on Columbus either. The speculation has already spread everywhere, with Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton and Seattle all getting tossed into the mix.
Now Boston has joined the conversation, and the social-media breadcrumbs are hard to ignore.
Over the last few days, Bruins players have started following Marchenko on Instagram. David Pastrnak did it first.
Then Nikita Zadorov. Marchenko followed them back, and the Follow Tracker flagged each move.
By itself, that’s nothing. NHL players follow one another all the time for reasons that have nothing to do with a trade. They work out together, share agents, run into each other at camps, or just respect each other’s game.
Still, the timing is what has people talking. Boston has recently been connected to Marchenko.
The Blue Jackets are over the cap until LTIR kicks in. And suddenly, Bruins players are following him right as the rumors pick up.
Greg Wyshynski of ESPN said what plenty of people were already thinking:
“Are they f-king with us?”
Maybe. Maybe not.
That’s the whole appeal here. The most likely explanation is that this means absolutely nothing. But the idea that a bot account tracking Instagram activity could stumble into the first real hint of a trade is too bizarre not to enjoy.
A deal getting foreshadowed by a follow button instead of an insider tweet? That would be absurd. It would also be exactly the kind of modern NHL twist that keeps fans glued to their phones.
In Other News...
Bruins Fans Are Suddenly Watching A Strange Marchenko Trade Rumor
A stray bit of social media sleuthing has Bruins fans doing a double take, with Kirill Marchenko suddenly entering the conversation around Boston. The wingers name popped up after an online observation noticed mutual Instagram follows between Marchenko and a pair of Bruins players, enough to send speculation spinning even though there is no hockey-related evidence behind it.
For a fan base that is always alert to possible roster upgrades, the temptation to connect dots is obvious, especially when a player profile like Marchenkos gets dragged into the mix. Still, the buzz appears to be little more than the kind of coincidence the internet loves to turn into a rumor, leaving Boston supporters with a fresh topic to watch but no real sign that anything is actually brewing. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Need JJ Peterka To Fix One Offensive Problem Fast
The trade market is starting to move again as the league heads toward its cap-compliant roster deadline, with Elliotte Friedman reporting that a deal involving Kirill Marchenko between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Toronto Maple Leafs could be close. For Boston, the ripple effect matters because the Bruins have already made their big swing, bringing in winger JJ Peterka to help address an offense that has lacked enough punch for too long.
Peterka arrives with real expectations attached, and the Bruins will need him to translate that upside quickly once the season opens against the New York Rangers at TD Garden. The fit is obvious enough: Boston wants more speed, more finishing and more reliable scoring depth, and Peterka is the kind of addition that can change the look of a forward group if he settles in right away. The only question is how fast that impact shows up, because for a team trying to reestablish itself, offensive fixes have a way of becoming urgent the moment the puck drops. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Finally Found A Backup Goalie Worth Watching
After Bostons first-round playoff exit, the Bruins moved on from Joonas Korpisalo by sending him to the New York Rangers, a change that opened a cleaner runway behind Jeremy Swayman. It also created a real opportunity for Michael DiPietro, whose path to the NHL roster had been less about hype than about timing and steady work.
DiPietro took advantage of it in camp and preseason, where he put together the kind of showing that made the backup picture more interesting than it has been in a while. For a Bruins team looking to sort out the goal crease after last springs disappointment, having a second goaltender who earned the job on merit gives the season a little more stability, even if the long-term questions around the position are still very much part of the conversation. [Read more 🡒]