Kirill Marchenko keeps popping up in trade chatter, and two teams have surfaced for very different reasons: Montreal and Edmonton.
The Canadiens angle starts with the kind of loose but real connection front offices pay attention to. Marchenko shares an agent with Ivan Demidov, and Demidov has reportedly spoken highly of his time in Montreal.
He also remains in regular contact with Marchenko. Add in the good rapport between that agent and the Canadiens front office, and it’s the sort of setup insiders point to when they think a future move might have a path.
That said, Columbus is not actively shopping Marchenko. The Blue Jackets’ GM reportedly has no intention of moving him unless the winger asks out or makes it clear he will not re-sign.
For now, Marchenko is expected to arrive at training camp in a Blue Jackets jersey and carry on as if nothing is happening. So Montreal is firmly in the “watch this” category, not the “deal is close” one.
Edmonton makes just as much sense, maybe more. The Oilers have been quietly linked to Marchenko all offseason, and the fit is obvious: a 6-foot-3 winger who has scored 27-plus goals in back-to-back seasons is exactly the type of forward who could slot next to McDavid or Draisaitl. There’s also a personal tie, since Marchenko is close with Oilers forward Vasily Podkolzin from their time together in Russia.
The contract situation only adds to the appeal. Marchenko carries a $3.85 million cap hit and becomes a restricted free agent after this season, which means he would be more than a short-term fix if Edmonton ever landed him.
Nothing is close right now, and Columbus has no reason to move one of its top forwards early. But if the Blue Jackets slide out of the playoff race and cannot get him locked in long term, the Oilers could wait and then strike at the deadline.
It would take a serious package - a premium prospect, picks, and possibly another roster player - but that is the kind of price a contender pays for a top-six winger with staying power.
The other major storyline swirling around the league is Connor Hellebuyck, and the fan-generated trade machine has already gone into overdrive now that his request is confirmed. On PuckPedia’s mock trade tool, Buffalo has become the clear favorite destination, with Carolina, New Jersey, Detroit, and Vegas also drawing plenty of attention.
Most of those mock offers follow the usual formula for a three-time Vezina winner: young goalies, first-round picks, and a prospect or two. Detroit, though, has sparked the wildest idea of all.
Some fans are attaching Kyle Connor to the Hellebuyck talk and imagining a much bigger Winnipeg shake-up. Connor is a Michigan native, and there had already been speculation last fall about the idea of a Detroit homecoming.
There is no real indication Connor wants out of Winnipeg, and his contract is reasonable enough that the Jets would not be in any hurry to move him. Still, the thought that a Hellebuyck trade could snowball into something far larger involving another one of Winnipeg’s stars is one fans are clearly having fun with.
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The issue is not just about maximizing star power, but about how the rest of the lineup gets used when McDavid and Draisaitl are separated. Playing apart has made both of them heavy even-strength minute drivers, which can squeeze the opportunities available to everyone else and leave Edmonton trying to solve one lineup balance problem by creating another. [Read more 🡒]