For most of the summer, the Montreal Canadiens have been a popular trade partner with the Columbus Blue Jackets for Kirill Marchenko. However, the Blue Jackets haven't really been willing to move the big forward, and the Canadiens could end up finding themselves competing with division rivals the longer this drags on.
Recently, Bleacher Report put together a list of five potential landing spots for Kirill Marchenko and it isn't a surprise that the Montreal Canadiens were on the list. The fit from a player and team perspective is almost too perfect.
The Canadiens need a Top 6 forward and have been trying to find a long-term solution to the need. Marchenko certainly could be that at 25 years old and has already proven he can be very productive with 67 or more points in each of the past two seasons.
However, there are a lot of teams out there that would be interested in Marchenko, and the list by Lyle Richardson included the Ottawa Senators as well as the Buffalo Sabres. The other two teams were the Seattle Kraken and Utah Mammoth.
While it would be tough for the Canadiens to see Marchenko traded anywhere other than to them, a move to the Western Conference would certainly be better. The last thing that the Canadiens would want is to play him regularly on the Senators or the Sabres.
Do the Columbus Blue Jackets even want to trade Kirill Marchenko?
The big question over the past few weeks of the offseason has been whether or not the Columbus Blue Jackets even want to trade Kirill Marchenko. The Montreal Canadiens have appeared to be ready to make a big move but haven't found a team willing to work with them.
Marchenko is entering the final year of his contract but will be only a restricted free agent next summer. The Blue Jackets still have some control and don't necessarily need to make a move right now.
They also have to find this balance of building for the future but also proving to some of their top players, like Zach Werenski and Adam Fantilli, that they want to remain competitive now. That is a tough sell when they move one of their best players right before the start of the season, if that is the route they go.
If Columbus does decide it's time to trade Marchenko, the Montreal Canadiens will likely be first in line but might not have enough NHL-ready players they are willing to trade to get a deal done. A combination of their restricted free agents, Zachary Bolduc and Arber Xhekaj, along with prospects and picks might be enough. However, Columbus still would need to work out deals with both players, and that is another level of complexity in a trade.
This is something that might take a while to play out, but the Montreal Canadiens need to be ready to compete with division rivals once the time comes that the Blue Jackets decide to trade Kirill Marchenko.
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