The Bruins have already made one bold swing this offseason, and it came with a hefty price tag.
At the 2026 NHL Draft in June, Boston landed top-six winger JJ Peterka in a trade with the Utah Mammoth, sending out two first-round picks to get the speedy German forward. But Peterka may not have been the only young scoring winger on the Bruins’ radar.
On last week’s episode of his 32 Thoughts podcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said Boston made a trade offer for Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kirill Marchenko. Friedman didn’t say when the offer happened or what Boston put on the table.
"Montreal, everybody knows about, the Islanders I mentioned a couple pods ago," Friedman said. "Toronto I think has really tried to keep their interest secret, but it's kind of seeped out. I think Winnipeg at one point kind of looked into it.
"I heard Boston made an offer at one point. I had some people say Vegas, I had some other people say they weren't sure it was Vegas.
I have to think Seattle is around this. They've really been looking at trying to grab a top-end player and they could make this deal."
Marchenko is 26 and headed for restricted free agency when his current contract runs out after the 2026-27 season. Columbus has not been able to lock him into an extension, and when he was recently asked about his future there, he didn’t exactly shut the door or open it wide.
For Boston, the fit is obvious enough on the ice. The Bruins still need more top-six offense, and Marchenko has spent his NHL career producing like a legitimate scorer.
He has put up at least 21 goals in all four of his seasons, including a career-best 31 goals and 47 assists in 79 games in 2024-25. Last season, he followed that with 27 goals and 40 assists in 76 games.
Given the talent around him in Columbus, it’s fair to wonder what he could do with a better supporting cast. On a deeper team like Boston, Marchenko could reasonably be expected to live in the 30-goal, 70-point neighborhood on a regular basis.
He also brings real size at 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, which only adds to the appeal.
The problem, as always, is the price. If multiple teams are chasing him, the cost could get steep in a hurry.
The Bruins still own all of their own first-round picks in future drafts, plus an unprotected Toronto Maple Leafs first-rounder in 2027 or 2028. Their prospect pool was ranked 19th in the league by The Athletic in March, and players such as Matt Poitras and Mason Lohrei still have upside.
There’s also the question of whether Columbus would have interest in Pavel Zacha, who is entering the final year of his contract and can become a UFA next summer.
Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell made it clear what kind of return he wants.
“We don’t want draft picks and prospects,” Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell told The Athletic. “We want the best player possible to replace him.”
There’s also a broader roster-building question for Boston. Marchenko is a winger, not a center, and if the Bruins are going to spend major trade capital, there’s an argument that it should go toward a No. 1 or No. 2 center or a top-four defenseman instead.
Still, the Bruins’ need for more scoring is obvious, and Marchenko checks a lot of boxes. He’s productive, physical and still only 26.
With David Pastrnak carrying so much of the offensive load, Boston could use another high-end threat. The real issue is whether they should pay up for another winger after already spending big on Peterka.
Overdoing it would be the wrong move.
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 🡒]