The Columbus Blue Jackets have not received a single phone call about Kirill Marchenko since early summer, according to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, pushing back hard against a weekend report out of Russia that claimed the 25-year-old winger was “between two teams” and on the verge of being dealt.
So let me get this straight: a Russian outlet says a trade is basically done, the player’s own agent is cracking tariff jokes on social media, half of Montreal is already penciling Marchenko onto a line with Ivan Demidov — and the team that actually holds his contract says the phone hasn’t rung in weeks. Welcome to the NHL offseason, where the rumor mill spins faster than the actual sport.
Portzline reported Monday that despite the chatter, there is nothing happening on the Marchenko front in Columbus. He did not rule out the situation evolving later this summer, but his understanding is that the calls simply stopped coming.
The original spark came Saturday from Daria Tuboltseva of RG.org, a Saint Petersburg-based reporter who covers Russian NHL players. Citing a source close to Marchenko, she wrote that Columbus and another team were “finalizing the terms of a trade” and that Marchenko’s camp was aware of ongoing negotiations. The Montreal Canadiens were named as a club that had previously checked in.
Marchenko’s agent, Dan Milstein of Gold Star Sports, did not exactly pour cold water on things. In a lighthearted post on X, he said he could neither confirm nor deny the rumors but noted there were “steep tariffs on exports between Canada and the U.S.” — a line that did nothing to quiet the speculation and everything to feed it.
Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell has been more direct. Speaking earlier this month, he said: “I’ve had discussions with his agent, which we won’t discuss right now, but Marchenko is going to be a Blue Jacket when the season starts.”
That is a fairly unambiguous statement from the man who controls the roster. And the numbers explain why Waddell would want to keep him.
Marchenko led Columbus in goals for a third consecutive season in 2025-26, finishing with 27 goals and 40 assists for 67 points in 76 games — second on the team only to Zach Werenski’s 81. He has never scored fewer than 21 goals in any of his four NHL seasons. He is entering the final year of a three-year deal carrying a $3.85 million cap hit, after which he becomes a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. That combination — elite production on a team-friendly contract, with one year of control remaining — is precisely what makes him simultaneously valuable to keep and attractive to acquire.
The Marchenko saga is tangled up in a broader, uglier offseason narrative in Columbus. Werenski, the Norris Trophy-winning defenseman, was the subject of intense trade speculation involving the Dallas Stars — a deal Werenski ultimately nixed. The organization released a joint statement with Werenski to quell the unrest, but the episode laid bare a franchise that has now missed the playoffs six straight years and has not won a series since 2019.
Elliotte Friedman has linked Montreal as a “stealth” suitor for Marchenko, and the Sick Podcast Network confirmed the Canadiens’ interest, with an NHL source telling them “the price will be high.” Montreal is seeking a top-six scoring winger, and Marchenko’s profile — 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, dual-threat scorer, Russian heritage that could pair naturally with Demidov — fits the bill almost too cleanly.
But fit and a completed trade are different animals. Portzline’s reporting suggests the gap between the Russian report and Columbus reality is wide. Whether that gap closes before training camp opens is the question nobody can answer yet — least of all the team that supposedly is making the call.
Sources
- Aaron Portzline, The Athletic (via X)
- TSN — Report: Blue Jackets have not had calls on Marchenko lately
- RG.org — Marchenko trade expected soon
- Yardbarker — NHL Rumour Rundown
- The Sick Podcast — Is Marchenko a realistic trade target for the Habs?