Kirill Marchenko’s name keeps surfacing in trade chatter, and now the list of possible landing spots appears to include both the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
On The Sick Podcast with Tony Marino, Sportsnet’s Eric Engels said Marchenko could be on his way out of Columbus, with Montreal and Toronto among the teams tied to him. Engels said Columbus needs a strong start after “six years of not making the playoffs.”
Tony Marino pointed out that Don Waddell has made it clear he wants established players rather than futures. Marino said that would point to players such as “a (Juraj) Slafkovsky, which Canadians are not going to trade.
A (Cole) Caulfield, which Canadians are not going to trade. A (Ivan) Demidov, which Canadians are not going to trade.
They’re obviously not going to trade (Nick) Suzuki because he’s their number one centerman on their team. And the other players that they have that are role players are just not going to cut it.”
Engels pushed back a bit on that view, saying Montreal does have pieces that could interest Columbus, especially if prospects are involved. But he also noted that the Maple Leafs have entered the picture, saying Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet reported that Toronto and Edmonton had circled around Marchenko as well. Engels said he had not heard much about Edmonton, but had “certainly heard about the Maple Leafs.”
He also said Toronto could become a serious player if it were willing to include Matthew Knies. Engels called that kind of package “a tough pack(age), that becomes a tough trade to compete with.” Marino agreed, saying that if Columbus got a Toronto package built around Knies, “I’m listening for sure, no doubt about it.”
Engels said the situation puts Don Waddell in a difficult spot. On one hand, he may prefer to move a player who does not want to be there sooner rather than later. On the other, Columbus ownership is under pressure after six straight years without a playoff appearance, and dealing away a top player without making the team better in the short term is a hard sell.
That’s why Engels said he is not sure anything happens right away unless the right call comes in. As he put it, “the call is too good to turn away from.”
In Other News...
Canadiens Sent David Reinbacher Down For A Bigger Reason
David Reinbachers latest assignment to Laval says more about the Canadiens roster picture than it does about his play. Montreals decision was not a reflection of how he performed, but a sign of how the club wants to manage a young defenseman who is still best served by getting major minutes rather than sitting in a limited role on the NHL bench.
The timing matters, too, because the Canadiens are getting healthier on the blue line. With Kaiden Guhle edging closer to a return, the immediate need for an extra defenseman has eased, leaving Montreal with a choice that favors development over depth. For now, Reinbacher stays where the games can give him more responsibility, even if the path back up becomes clearer again soon. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Make A Tough Early Call On David Reinbacher
The Canadiens final roster cuts brought a notable early-season decision on David Reinbacher, who will start the year with the Laval Rocket in the AHL. The former fifth-overall pick had a strong preseason, but Montreal is clearly taking the long view with a young defenseman whose development has already been shaped by injury history and a crowded battle for minutes on the blue line.
For now, Reinbacher should get the kind of heavy workload in Laval that can be harder to guarantee in Montreal, where the club had to balance roster spots, waiver concerns and its depth chart on defense. The door to the NHL is hardly closed, though, and if he keeps building through the season, the Canadiens are leaving themselves plenty of room to bring him back up when the timing makes sense. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Trade Interest Just Raised The Stakes For Kent Hughes
The Canadiens spent part of the summer exploring a bigger swing, with Frank Seravalli reporting that management had considered packaging Kirby Dach in a larger deal if it meant bringing immediate help back the other way. It was the kind of roster-thinking that makes sense for a team trying to accelerate its timeline, and it also showed how aggressively Kent Hughes has been willing to survey the market when there is a chance to reshape the lineup.
Montreal had Kirill Marchenko in mind as a possible target before he was moved to Toronto, which forced the Canadiens to keep searching for another path. The Edmonton Oilers also showed interest in Dach, but Hughes appears to be holding out for a more significant trade opening, leaving the next move tied to whether a better fit comes available. [Read more 🡒]