The idea of Kirill Marchenko landing in Montreal keeps coming up, but one NHL insider doesn’t think the pieces line up cleanly.
Pierre McGuire said he doesn’t “see a fit there” when Jimmy Murphy of The Sick Podcast brought up the Canadiens and the Blue Jackets winger. The conversation centered on Columbus GM Don Waddell’s stance that if he moves Marchenko, he wants a player back who can help replace what the Blue Jackets would be giving up.
That’s the catch for Montreal. The Canadiens want to add a cost-controlled top-six forward, but if Columbus is looking for a roster player in return, Kent Hughes would have to part with someone useful. McGuire made clear he didn’t think Montreal had the right kind of piece for that kind of swap.
“As soon as he said that, playing for roster legit hockey trade I don’t know if there’s something on the Canadiens that fits that mold “As soon as he said that… I didn’t want to get everybody angry in Montreal, but as soon as he said that, I’m like, yeah, but I don’t see the fit there. Maybe there is; I don’t personally see it.”
Waddell’s comments made the framework pretty plain. He said, “Every player on our roster, for the most part, is tradable if you get the right deal.” But he also stressed that Marchenko is a real offensive piece, noting, “he puts up a lot of points and goals and you know and he’s got a great cap hit, I think it’s $3.85M, for one more year, so we can’t just take him out of our lineup and not replace that.”
That’s why Columbus doesn’t sound eager to settle for a pile of lesser assets. Waddell has made it clear he isn’t trying to lose a trade, and he’s not interested in taking back a package that leaves the roster short on impact.
Still, the Canadiens are not the only team in the mix. Elliotte Friedman said on his 32 Thoughts podcast that Montreal has been in on Marchenko, but the New York Islanders have also kicked the tires.
For now, though, Waddell says nothing is close. He told Mark Scheig of The Hockey News, “I’ve gotten calls, obviously.
I got to listen to teams when they call me. That’s part of my daily routine.
If someone calls me and wants to talk about what they want to offer … but as we sit here today (Wednesday morning), I don’t have anything. I’m not contemplating anything right now.”
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