One of the biggest offseason dominoes still hanging out there is Kirill Marchenko, and the Columbus Blue Jackets winger may be close to moving. Marchenko has formally asked for a trade, and after plenty of interest around the league, a new report says the field has been trimmed to two teams.
The report comes from RG Media, and it appears to have been foreshadowed by Marchenko’s agent, Dan Milstein. Milstein didn’t exactly confirm anything, but he did leave enough breadcrumbs to suggest something is brewing.
“Can’t confirm or deny, but last I checked there were some pretty steep tariffs on exporting elite talent to or from Canada right now… #WeAreGoldStar https://t.co/e91gFD21pa”
- Dan Milstein (@HockeyAgent1) July 25, 2026
New Jersey has emerged as a logical landing spot. The Devils need exactly this kind of player, and the contract setup lines up cleanly too. Marchenko will need a new deal after next season, but for 2026-27 he carries just a $3.9 million cap hit.
The production is easy to see. Marchenko has scored at least 21 goals in each of his four NHL seasons, and last year he put up 27 goals and 40 assists in 76 games. That kind of winger doesn’t come cheap, and Columbus is expected to get a substantial return.
The Devils have the ammunition to be in that conversation. They don’t need to move one of their star players to make a deal work, which would not make much sense here anyway. On top of the high second-round pick they held in this year’s NHL Draft, they also picked up two extra first-rounders in the Simon Nemec trade.
That second-rounder was used on Matias Vanhanen and Lavr Gashilov, giving New Jersey two more high-end prospects. After a strong 2026 NHL Draft, the Devils have the kind of draft capital that could be redirected toward a player like Marchenko.
The fit on the ice is obvious, too. After adding Anthony Mantha, New Jersey still looks like it needs one more piece to lock in the roster, especially if the team is committed to its three-goalie rotation. Another top-six scorer, particularly a finisher of Marchenko’s caliber, would give the Devils a much-needed boost in the goal-scoring department.
If the latest reports are right and the race is down to two teams, New Jersey would make plenty of sense to be one of them. The Devils are still among the clubs looking for upgrades, and they have the resources to make a Marchenko deal happen.
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