Habs Potential Trade Target: Kirill Marchenko

The Blue Jackets failed to make the playoffs for the 6th straight season during the 2025-26 campaign. With that being said, there could be a rebuild happening in Columbus that sees a lot of turnaround with their roster, making players like Marchenko entering their prime seem like trade chips that could help the Blue Jackets restart a rebuild around someone like 21-year-old Adam Fantilli.

This will especially be the case if defenseman Zach Werenski ends up requesting a trade out of Columbus when he’s scheduled to meet with Blue Jackets management after this weekend’s NHL Draft. If Werenski ends up going, it wouldn’t be very shocking to see Marchenko traded next, and with that, the Canadiens should be all over the Russian winger. Marchenko is an offensive threat that could make his linemates around home better with his dual threat as both a shooter and playmaker. He is coming off a season where he scored 27 goals and 67 points in 76 games, which is the second-best year of his career. During the 2024-25 season, Marchenko broke out for 31 goals and 74 points in 79 games.

Due to where he currently plays, Marchenko is one of the most underrated players in the entire NHL, as, unlike most players who get the attention of being a star by being a 30-goal, 70-point scorer, he rarely ever gets any attention for how good a player that he is. If the Habs were to acquire him, it surely wouldn’t come cheap, but they may be able to get him for a discounted price from what would be expected for a scoring winger that is just entering his prime. Marchenko is known to be a lethal scorer but clearly doesn’t get the credit that he deserves. In fact, he has yet to score fewer than 21 goals in any of his four seasons in the NHL so far.

What makes Marchenko so enticing to the Habs is not only that his offensive game would give Demidov a skilled player to play with, but it would also bring a fellow Russian with a bit more NHL experience than himself to play alongside. The duo of Russian forwards would likely look really good together. Marchenko hasn’t had the chance to play with a forward that has the same potential as a playmaker that Demidov has, which means playing together could allow the 25-year-old to unlock another level and potentially become a 35-goal scorer.

Another good aspect of getting Marchenko is that at 6’3″ and 200 lbs, he can add much-needed size to the Canadiens’ top 6 forwards. Now, he may not be the most physical player out there, but he can throw big hits when needed. Therefore, getting someone like Marchenko can fill both the need of size and skill, which could make him a good playoff player when the time comes in the future. Unfortunately, Marchenko has yet to taste playoff hockey, and with the way things are going in Columbus, it may be hard for him to finally get a shot at it unless he gets traded.

Marchenko is a year away from being a restricted free agent and could be in a similar situation that Noah Dobson was last summer with the New York Islanders; if he and the Blue Jackets appear to be far apart during contract talks, there is a chance that he could become available a little later this summer. For now, the Blue Jackets are just listening to what teams could offer. Marchenko is currently making $3.85 million for next season but will be set for a nice payday that gets him around $8 million a season on his next contract. The Canadiens will have the money to easily give him that for the 2027-28 season and for the next 5-6 years, but maybe a lower-end franchise like the Blue Jackets won’t be willing to pay as much as what he should be commanding. Not to mention, he may not want to stick around for another rebuild/retool in Columbus.

Given that Marchenko has another year left on his contract and the Blue Jackets are not necessarily ready to trade him just yet, it is very likely that if a trade were to happen this summer, it will be done after the draft. Nonetheless, Elliotte Friedman linked Marchenko as a possibility for a player that the Habs could look to acquire this summer. Kent Hughes has mentioned he’d rather overpay in the right trade than for a UFA. With that being said, if the Canadiens do feel that Marchenko is the eighth player to add, they may be willing to overpay a bit to get his services. This could mean that the Habs trade would be willing to trade something like Alexander Zharovsky, Bryce Pickford/Adam Engstrom/Owen Beck, and two first-round picks for Marchenko’s services. This would be essentially what the Habs would have paid for the rumoured Matthew Knies trade, and honestly, it wouldn’t be a horrible decision based on what Marchenko can bring for the Habs.

What would you be willing to trade to get a player like Marchenko, just entering his prime, to play on the wing with Demidov and maybe Michael Hage at centre for years to come?