The Canadiens are still watching Kirill Marchenko, but one name is off-limits if Montreal ever tries to make a real push.
Michael Hage would not be part of the deal.
That’s the key detail coming out of Jimmy Murphy’s source on the Sick Podcast, who said Kent Hughes’ interest in the Columbus Blue Jackets forward has not cooled in recent weeks. The Canadiens GM is reportedly still doing his homework and tracking how things develop in Columbus.
But interest only goes so far. Don Waddell has made it clear he will only move a player if the trade clearly helps his team, and that’s where the problem starts for Montreal.
The source says Hage is a non-starter, no matter how aggressive the Canadiens get with their offer. Hughes reportedly wants nothing to do with moving him.
That makes any possible framework much tougher to build, especially if Columbus is serious about listening. If Hage is out of the equation, Montreal would seemingly have to lean on other major pieces such as David Reinbacher and/or Alexander Zharovsky.
Marchenko’s production explains why the Canadiens are still interested. The 26-year-old winger put up 67 points in 76 games last season, with 27 goals and a +7 rating. The year before, he finished at +29.
At 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, Marchenko checks the kind of box that naturally keeps a team like Montreal paying attention. But if the Blue Jackets’ price stays where it is, and Hage remains untouchable, the fit gets complicated fast.
In Other News...
Canadiens Prospects Just Gave Fans Three New Reasons To Pay Attention
The Canadiens NCAA pipeline keeps giving the organization more to track as another college season approaches, and the latest group of prospects brings a little bit of everything. Michael Hage is headed back to Michigan, LJ Mooney is coming off a strong freshman year at Minnesota, and Timofei Runtso is moving into the college game after a productive WHL run. For a club still trying to build out its future, those are the kinds of names that can quietly start shaping the conversation around what comes next.
Mooney is the one who already looks closest to forcing a decision, since his play at Minnesota has put him on the radar for a possible entry-level contract if he keeps trending up. Hages return gives Montreal another important look at a player whose development path has already been tested, while Runtso adds another fresh layer of intrigue once he settles in at Miami. The Canadiens do not need all of these prospects to hit at once, but they do need some of them to keep moving, and this fall should tell the team a lot about which ones are ready to push forward. [Read more 🡒]
Kirby Dach Just Put A Canadiens Bounce-Back Season Back In Focus
Kirby Dach is back in Brossard as the Canadiens continue their lead-up to training camp, and his return puts a familiar offseason storyline back at the center of Montreals plans. After a limited and disappointing last season, the forward heads into the new year with a new contract in place as a restricted free agent, and his presence at the teams training base arrives as several teammates are already getting work in before camp officially opens.
The bigger question around Dach remains the same one that followed him through the spring: whether the flashes he showed in the playoffs can carry into a full bounce-back season. Montreal has spent much of the summer talking about growth, health and internal improvement, and Dach sits right in the middle of that conversation as one of the players whose next step could shape the teams outlook. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Goalie Situation Suddenly Hinges On Winnipegs Next Move
The Canadiens goaltending picture is suddenly tied to a bigger conversation out in Winnipeg, where any serious trade talk involving Connor Hellebuyck could ripple across the market and put Montreal in a spot it may have to address before long. Samuel Montembeault sits at the center of that uncertainty, with the current chatter suggesting the Canadiens could be watching the deadline landscape closely rather than treating their crease as settled.
Montembeaults future is already a talking point because a move before the deadline has been viewed as plausible, and the uncertainty only grows if the Jets decide to shift course. If Winnipeg starts asking around on Montreals goalie, the discussion could widen quickly, but for now it remains all speculation and there have been no confirmed transactions to report. [Read more 🡒]