The Montreal Canadiens looked to have identified their big offseason addition. The Canadiens need some reinforcements in their top six, but instead of a centre, they have their eyes set on Columbus Blue Jackets winger Kirill Marchenko. Elliotte Friedman reported on The Fan Hockey Show that he would not be surprised if Montreal went after Marchenko, and that thought was reinforced by Frank Seravalli earlier today on Frankly Hockey. Seravalli claimed the Canadiens put together a “MASSIVE” offer for Marchenko, which looked borderline insane. He had no details on what Montreal offered, but did say that there is no traction to a deal getting done just yet.
Marchenko makes a lot of sense for the Canadiens
The Canadiens are in need of a big, physical winger who can score goals, and Marchenko checks all those boxes. The Blue Jackets' 2018 second-round pick came into the NHL as a pure goalscorer, finding the back of the net 21 times as a rookie, but only complemented that with four assists. Over the last three seasons, he has rounded out his game, hitting the 40-assist mark in back-to-back seasons. He had a career-high 31 goals in the 2024-25 season, but fell short of that tally last year with 27. Despite his big frame, 6’3”, 200 pounds, Marchenko does not use his size as much as you would think, finishing last season with 61 hits, 10th on the Blue Jackets. Marchenko has a knack for scoring goals, and the idea of pairing him with fellow Russian Ivan Demidov has to be intriguing for the Canadiens.
Despite the stretch of games Demidov played alongside Juraj Slafkovsky and Oliver Kapanen, Demidov was not playing with players that you would normally see on the second line. During the playoffs, Demidov played the majority of the time alongside Alex Newhook and Jake Evans. Newhook was stellar in the Canadiens' playoff run, but it is clear they believe he is best suited to play on the team’s third line. Evans has primarily been used in a shutdown role on the Canadiens third and fourth line. With Kapanen being a healthy scratch for most of the playoffs, Evans was asked to play higher in the lineup. If the Canadiens can land Marchenko, it would give Demidov a legitimate goalscoring winger, and if Montreal can not land a second-line centre, it would take some pressure off Kapanen. There is also the lingering feeling that the Canadiens could entice Michael Hage not to return to Michigan, and bringing in someone like Marchenko could do just that.
What was the Canadiens' “borderline insane” offer for Marchenko
In the Frankly Hockey podcast episode, Seravalli said that while he does not know what pieces the Canadiens offered for Marchenko, they might look “borderline insane” for putting this offer together. Which now begs the question: What exactly could the Canadiens offer that would make it insane?
Considering what was rumoured to be going to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Matthew Knies at the NHL Trade Deadline, Alexander Zharovsky likely would be going the other way in the deal. Behind Hage, Zharovsky is likely the Canadiens prospect that holds the most value, and it would not make sense to include the Michigan Wolverines’ centre unless Montreal was making a trade for a second-line centre. The offer for Marchenko likely included multiple first-round picks and maybe another prospect or a roster player, someone like Kirby Dach, who is a pending restricted free agent. There is also the possibility that the Canadiens could have been targeting someone else along with Marchenko, which could explain why they sent a massive offer. If the Canadiens are eyeing someone else, like Kent Johnson or Adam Fantelli, it would explain why the offer was “borderline insane,” but Columbus is not biting on it just yet, so we will have to wait and see if Montreal can get a deal done for the Russian winger.
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