NHL Rumor Mill – July 27, 2026
Are the Blue Jackets and Canadiens on the verge of a big trade involving Kirill Marchenko? Find out in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.
RG MEDIA: Daria Tuboltseva reported that a source close to Kirill Marchenko claimed the Columbus Blue Jackets winger was expected to be traded in the near future. The Blue Jackets and another team were said to be finalizing the terms of the trade, and the 26-year-old winger’s camp is aware of it.
Columbus Blue Jackets winger Kirill Marchenko (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: A month ago, ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reported sources informed him that Marchenko, who is slated to become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights next summer, was reluctant to sign a contract extension this summer.
The Blue Jackets weren’t actively shopping Marchenko. General manager Don Waddell recently said that the winger would be with the club when the season started.
Tuboltseva indicated that the Montreal Canadiens were among the clubs that pursued Marchenko earlier this summer. She speculated that they could factor into the current trade talks. She cited colleague Marco D’Amico, who recently said that the Canadiens were still in the market for a top-six scorer and Marchenko was among the most attractive options in the market, depending on whether he’d sign an extension with an acquiring team.
THE ATHLETIC: Aaron Portzline reported Sunday that nothing was happening with Marchenko, despite the rumors out of Russia.
Portzline acknowledged that the situation could change later this summer. However, he stated that it was his understanding that the Blue Jackets hadn’t received any calls about Marchenko since earlier this summer.
THE HOCKEY WRITERS: Mark Scheig also stated that there was nothing new regarding Marchenko’s status despite the report and the rampant rumors it generated.
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH: Brian Hedger reported Waddell has refuted the report, claiming it’s been weeks since he’s spoken with general managers about Marchenko.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Marchenko’s agent, Dan Milstein, took to social media to refute a false claim that he was discussing a contract extension for his client with the Canadiens.
Waddell could be denying the rumors because he doesn’t want it to get out that he’s in trade talks with other clubs about Marchenko. Maybe he is close to a deal that sends the scoring winger to Montreal or another NHL team.
Tuboltseva is reporting what her source is telling her. However, Portzline, Scheig, and Hedger are the Blue Jackets beat writers and are well-connected to sources within the organization, and they agree that there’s nothing to this rumor.
Meanwhile, some Canadiens followers have been speculating about what it would take for their club to acquire Marchenko.
The Canadiens don’t have anyone on their roster that they’re willing to part with that could land a player of Marchenko’s caliber. Waddell won’t be interested in Kirby Dach or Arber Xhekaj. Yes, Oliver Kapanen is promising, but he’s not the centerpiece of a trade that brings Marchenko to Montreal.
If the Canadiens are attempting to acquire Marchenko, they will be offering up draft picks and prospects. That means a first-round pick in 2027 or 2028, which most Habs fans probably wouldn’t mind parting with because of the young talent on the roster and within the system. However, it will also mean parting with Michael Hage and/or Alexander Zharovsky as part of the package.
Even then, Waddell probably wouldn’t be interested in an offer comprised of picks and prospects. He’s trying to turn the Blue Jackets into a playoff contender this season, and that means he wants a good young roster player. And no, Kapanen’s not enough to get it done. He wants an established young scoring forward.
For those of you who think the Canadiens could get Marchenko without parting with one of their good young roster players, or their top-two prospects, ask yourself this question: If I were Don Waddell, would I want to scuttle my club’s chances to make the playoffs this season by giving up my highest-scoring forward for a return of futures?
If you’re being honest with yourself, your answer is, “Of course not, I want the best return I can get, and if I can’t get it from the Canadiens, I’ll find it from another NHL club”.
Waddell must win now if he’s to convince Zach Werenski to remain with the Blue Jackets when his contract expires in two years. A return of futures for his leading goal scorer doesn’t address that need.
NJ could put together a solid package for Marchenko. Dawson Mercer, a 1st round pick and an NHL ready D prospect (Casey or Edwards) should be significant enough to at least consider a move. Marchenko would of course have to sign an extension in NJ.
With some rumors suggesting a return of 2 NHL ready players and 2 draft picks, one of which would be a first rounder, for Marchenko, your suggestion is underwhelming.
Mercer doesn’t help them enough now. That offer doesn’t fly. But 4 assets for him? 2 nhl players and two picks? Get right on outta town.
Thinking Newhook, Bryce Pickford and a minor pick would be enough to get Kirill
Great for the Habs, Johnny. But if you apply Lyle’s view for Waddell, which I think is correct, then your trade is Newhook now for CBJ and Pickford in a few years, in place of Marchenko.
Perhaps not?
CBJ is going to need a puck-moving, scoring D man to replace Zach in a couple years.
I will go out on a limb and predict Pickford will be a bottom paid D-man, if that. Let alone a replacement for a guy like Werinski.
50/50 that he even becomes an NHL regular meaning 300 games.
He put up a bunch of points and a very good Med Hat Tiger team last year. He didn’t even have the most points on his team for D-men. According to his scouting report he doesn’t have NHL burst to get up to full speed quickly, lateral movement is so-so, and he isn’t a PP QB in the NHL. He can really shoot it and will rock guys from time to time.
Sounds like a B prospect vs blue chip. Has value, as teams need bottom pair guys too, just not as a big piece for a guy like Marchenko who has produced consistently for a few years and is 26.
Appreciate the effort, but don’t think so Johnny.
Newhook is a bottom 6 player who is a good depth piece.
Your not trading a big bodied scorer who controls the play down low for a bottom 6 guy.
Pickford and a minor pick is something, but not much and just as close to nothing.
So basically trading Marchenko for Newhook.
Marchenko is a pending RFA, not UFA and will be playing for the Jackets next season. Zero rush.
KM will hold out till traded if he is still in CBS next September.
He will? Did he say that somewhere? If so, where? We all must of missed that, or at least I have.
Are you just thinking because you can think of something like that playing out, it must be true?
The Jackets will look for an established player in a package, and likely someone better than Newhook. While the Jackets may not need an extra D, I think a more reasonable package would be Guhle, 2027 first and Alex Newhook (or Pugyachov). Thats a high price, but its what it will cost, if not more.
I thought maybe that Newhook’s playoff heroics upped his value.
But hey. Just make it:
Newhook, Bryce Pickford and a 2027 protected 1st!
More like Guhle, 2027 first and Newhook. And no, that is not an overpay considering Guhle’s injury history and Newhook being a bottom 6 forward
Uhm to those who like to fantasize trades, unless CBJ have players that can replace what production the player leaving, the Jackets will most definitely need a guy who can produce similar to him. GMs don’t take away a strength and not get something somewhere to replace it.
So unless you are talking top talent/prospect for top, your trade proposal is not realistic and moot.
You’re in the right ballpark GG. I agree that Guhle and a 1st would have to be part of the deal. And quite possibly a young NHL forward like Newhook or Bolduc. But this deal doesn’t get done without Zharovsky going to Columbus.
Columbus needs to bring some hype to the club, just look at what playoffs meant for Buffalo.
I don’t know if it’s my algorithm but I saw a few posts yesterday that NYR where other team. Wonder how Marchenko deal could compare to Dorofeyev. 2 firsts and a 3rd. If Columbus wants players, it would have to be similar value. Also, is Marchenko going to get paid the same? Not sure 2 teams looking to make playoffs in same division can agree on a trade. Has Drury seen enough of Lafreniere to think he’d be better off with fresh start elsewhere? Would Waddell swap straight up? Cost controlled compared to Marchenko, who has played with Dorofeyev for Russia. Dorofeyev has scored more.
Is Kapanen, Dach, Zharovsky and a 2027 first round pick enough to bring Marchenko to the Habs (conditional that Marchenko signs a long term extension)? If not, what about including Pickford… or is that an overpay? Thoughts?
No…Dach is a throw in, Kapanen a third line centre, Zharovsky is just a prospect for Marchenko….this offer doesn’t even come close
I am sure Waddell is not picking up the phone
Feels like the dog days of summer. Not much else going on! Habs looking to get rid of spare parts or young players they have no room for. Everything that comes out of NJ is Mercer,Mercer,Mercer!
Start the bidding with Suzuki and keep going. Don’t like it, see ya. CBJ isn’t shopping Marchenko, people are approaching the CBJ.
I highly doubt Suzuki is on the table. Maybe Kapanen, Hage and a first.
If the jackets ask any team for a player of Suzuki’s caliber, Marchenkos going nowhere until next year when he refuses to re-sign and the jackets need to take what they can get. And Hage isn’t going anywhere either.
Nichushkin went for a 1st, 2nd and 3rd , one pick 3 years in a row.
Dorofeyev went for 1st and a 3rd
I think the Habs are looking at Voronkov
25y/o 6’5 235 LW but can play C.
Hard hitting power forward, led the league in net front goals.
He’ll cost less assets than Marchenko and they already brought in a cost-controlled Nichushkin to make him available.
Please, pass it this way
I gave my reasoning pup, what’s yours.
Are you seeing Voronkov on Demidov’s line, HF30? I ask because he is getting third line minutes with CBJ.
As for Suzuki for Marchenko, Pup, it’s almost as if you are trolling. Suzy finished with 106 points this past season and won the Selke. And the 5th highest scoring center to boot.
Marchenko is a good player, probably good for a steady dose of 30 goal seasons. But he is also less than a point per game player who has either Monahaon or Fantilli as his center so how about we dispense with the overvalued trade proposals.
LJ,
I see Voronkov on Demidov’s line.
2024-25 he played quite a bit with Fantilli and Marchenko and played with them last year before January when they got Marchment for peanuts.
I feel he’s one of those under the radar guys who fits a role on the Habs more so than other teams.
Habs don’t “need” a 2nd line sniper, the need is for a big guy who plays big, makes room but has soft hands.
Habfan30. Dorofeyev went for 2 1sts and a 3rd
The thing that should not be overlooked is Marchenko’s low value cap hit this season and that he has zero movement clauses hampering Wadell’s options.
Wadell can sit on this right up until the deadline and the offers will not get worse waiting it out as being under 4 mil will be very attractive to many teams then.
So rightfully if you want Marchenko now its going to be an overpay to land him imo. At least that would be my play if I was Wadell.
First just to clear this up, Nichushkin went for a 2nd, 3rd, and 5th although I don’t know why that matters.
Second, who the heck mentioned Vronkov anywhere?
Third, this just all smacks of the “elite” teams fanbases that think the CBJ is some sort of feeder team for the rest of the league to pick clean. Heck, let’s just throw Fantilli and a couple of 1st’s in for a couple AHL prospects and a bag of pucks while were at it.
Plus, 1Oilersfan has it correct. I would also add for KM’s benefit, enjoy CBJ or enjoy KHL.
I’m mentioning Voronkov as the player probably being looked at.
He’s RFA next year like Marchenko.
He’s voiced displeasure with Columbus.
His production has dropped this past year.
By the time Fantilli signs CBJ will be right up against the cap.
With a cap hit of $4.175M and role already replaced by Nichushkin, he’s the best target to get for picks.
Marchenko is much harder to move, his cap hit is $3.85M and his production needs to be replaced by more than Nichushkin- not draft picks.
Pundits not mentioning Voronkov is neither here nor there, we rarely know where GHs are really going.
My brain cramp when I said 1st, 2nd, 3rd it was 2nd, 3rd, and 5th which might just make the acquisition of Voronkov easier.
I’m not “picking CBJ clean” by any means, just stating that Voronkov is the realistic target not Marchenko.
As for Fantilli, if Carlsson got 18 and Bedard 15, he deserves every penny of the same amount, that’s why I’m saying they’ll be up against the cap, only 14.5M is left.
I agreed with your take of the Habs real target. It’s always easier to get something from someone if the thing you want they have multiple or better options which might be the case hf30 is alluding to in regards to already acquiring Nichushkin.
But then again, we don’t know exactly what Waddell’s plans or intentions are. Maybe he’s thinking that Voro might help the team more with the assets he can bring in, which I think will be more than picks, even 1sts, from Montreal…unless you know the Habs are going to regress a lot. Only a CBJ can say what the team can improve on if the were to move off lesser players because you can’t win if you don’t have guys like Marchenko potting goals for ya.
If by “elite” fanbases you mean teams that compete for playoffs and/or are in markets that attract stars, then yes these other teams are elite.
Columbus seems to always have a problem attracting and retaining top level stars.
Is it the city? The team? the organization? Some combo of all 3? Not sure, but there are reports (from real reporters, not twitter fanbases) that Marchenko won’t discuss an extension right now. While that doesn’t preclude him from staying, it clearly gives off a lot of “I’m outta here” vibes.
Organizations are not keen to have guys walk for nothing, so the rumors surrounding him leaving will swirl until he signs or gets traded.
Yes and stars and/or their agents love using the media to publicly negotiate contracts with crap like this we have seen time and time again. Regardless the outcome, the players seem to always land a deal in their favor, with that team or not. Us fans, we get what we get! LOL
Not sure Nichushkin is a great comparable. Had a M-NTC, but more importantly has had to enter the league substance abuse program twice.
It’s not great when this happens during the playoffs:
Nichushkin was reportedly found with an Eastern European woman suffering from severe alcohol intoxication; the woman was reported to be either a prostitute or victim of human trafficking.
He then went into rehab for 6 months, and did another stint after he violated it again.
Not saying he won’t stay clean, just saying he carries added risk that some teams try to avoid.
RB,
With all that baggage Waddell still gave up 3 draft picks to sign the guy for $6.125 for 4 years, he’s UFA at the end of 2029-30.
One would assume he did his due diligence before making a commitment like that a month ago.
Probably signed him to let or prepare for Marchment leaving.
The Carlsson offer sheet was out there at the time so he had to have an eye on what Fantilli was thinking.
Once again I’m putting these pieces together and suggesting Voronkov is the guy moving and not Marchenko.
That’s true HF30, still a commitment to the guy, risk and all.
Not sure how much due diligence one can do on someone and whether or not they stay on the wagon in the future. Pretty hard to predict I would think.
CLB does have enough wingers now though, so dealing one seems like a logical move. And agree MTL doesn’t need a high end sniper, they have those guys and someone to win battles on the forecheck makes a ton of sense IMO. Hyman type guy.
There is a reason both Draisaitl and McDavid like playing with Podkolzin too. He doesn’t light it up offensively or skill wise but he creates opportunities by helping to get the puck back.
Based on some of these trade proposals, some of you have either forgotten or overlooked what I wrote earlier, so here it is again:
” If I were Don Waddell, would I want to scuttle my club’s chances to make the playoffs this season by giving up my highest-scoring forward for a return of futures?
If you’re being honest with yourself, your answer is, “Of course not, I want the best return I can get, and if I can’t get it from the Canadiens, I’ll find it from another NHL club”.
But you are of course forgetting that Montreal is magic, and everyone wants to play there for practically free.