TORONTO — Thirty hours before he took the ice under the Scotiabank Arena lights Tuesday night, before his Toronto Maple Leafs opened their new campaign with a roller-coaster test against the rival Montreal Canadiens, Kirill Marchenko was still a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The 26-year-old had waded through a full training camp over the past two weeks with the American club, had suited up for pre-season tilts draped in Columbus colours. Then came a down-to-the-wire blockbuster trade Monday night, a seven-piece deal that sent Marchenko east, a light-night flight to Ontario.
Even head coach Jim Hiller, as late as Tuesday morning, wasn’t sure if his new winger would be in the lineup when the Leafs opened their 2026-27 campaign, Marchenko’s arrival so fresh, he hadn’t yet logged a single minute on the ice with his new teammates. But come puck drop, there was No. 86, bathed in blue, starting the new season in a new city, with new linemates, and a new crest on his chest.
Forty-eight seconds later, he had his first point as a Leaf.
“I thought he did really well today,” William Nylander said from the Maple Leafs’ locker room post-game, the winger’s dazzling opening goal having gifted Marchenko his first assist with his new club. “You know, that’s always tough, coming to a complete new team — I mean, he didn’t even skate, gear’s brand new, everything. He did a great job.”
For all the chaos and upending that came in the hours before Tuesday night’s affair — packing up his life in Columbus, making the trek to Toronto and getting dropped straight into the action — the Russian phenom made the promise of his impact immensely clear in his first outing.
Skating alongside Auston Matthews and Jack Roslovic, occupying the top-line spot formerly held by Matthew Knies, who was traded to the Blue Jackets in the deal that brought Marchenko to Toronto, the winger’s ability with the puck on his stick was clear from the jump.
It was clear late in the first period, when Marchenko dashed down the left wing, cut inside, and whipped a dangerous wrister at netminder Jakub Dobes. Clear, too, in the opening minutes of the second, when Roslovic set Marchenko up for a blistering one-timer, and again early in the third, when the former Blue Jacket charged through the slot and stitched together a silky toe drag, creating a moment of promise out of nothing.
“We talked to him a little bit, gave him a little bit of an understanding of our systems and structure,” Hiller said late Tuesday of the coaching staff’s approach to preparing their new star for his debut. “He’s had quite a day, so we tried not to overload him. But I think you all saw some of the things he can do. Him and Auston, and I thought Rosy played really well with them, too — that whole line was dangerous.”
For the man himself, this one was simply about holding on for dear life, about showing what he could in this short-notice foray, before he truly settles in.
“It’s crazy,” he said after the Maple Leafs fell 3-2 to the Canadiens in their season-opener. “We packed, we moved, with my wife, to here. Two busy days, really busy. But I’m happy it’s done now, and I’m happy to be here.”
The winger finished the night with four shots and 20 minutes of ice to his name, stringing together some quality offensive sequences and getting the fans on their feet with some physicality, too. He assured it was only the start.
“We had good chances, but not what I want to see from myself,” he said Tuesday, after remarking in awe at the number of reporters crowded into the club’s locker room to speak to him post-game. “I can play better. I can play better for sure.”
It’s an adjustment for the rest of the locker room, too. Monday’s deal no doubt added some high-octane skill to the blue-and-white’s attack, but it also removed a young star in Knies, who’d established himself as a key piece of this core over the past couple of seasons.
“It’s mixed emotions for sure,” John Tavares said from his stall after the dust had settled on Tuesday’s loss. “I think the world of Kniesy — he’s obviously very close to the group in here, and a heck of a player. He’s got a great future ahead of him. You know, it’s a little bit shocking in a way, just because of the impact he’s made since coming in.
“But you add a talent like Kirill — I think you saw tonight some of the flashes of what he can do, how he’ll impact the game, what his skill set is. You know, a really, really gifted hockey player, with a lot of things that I think are going to be very helpful for us. So, it’s mixed emotions, but we’re real excited to have Kirill and what he’s going to bring to the team.”
If there’s one thing that was made abundantly clear by the newest Leaf after his first game was in the books, it’s that the excitement is mutual.
“It’s unbelievable for me,” Marchenko said of joining this team, of landing on its top line. “It’s a good opportunity for me to show how I can play, how I can help these guys. And they really help me. Because my partners right now, it’s Auston Matthews, it’s Jack Roslovic — it’s obviously one of the best centres in the league. I was nervous. But I’m so excited.”
There’s no shortage of wrinkles still to be ironed out. That much was clear in a 3-2 loss that saw the Maple Leafs start well, then wobble, and gift Montreal far too many chances courtesy of some shaky play in their own zone. But there were signs too, between the missteps, of a group that has the capacity to surprise this season. It’s that potential that prompted Marchenko to put pen to paper on a six-year, $75-million deal that kicks in next season.
“Four years with CBJ, it’s unbelievable for me,” the winger said Tuesday. “I grew up as a player. But now I think I can do another step here, with the guys here in this locker room. It’s just a good opportunity for me, a good opportunity to win games, win the Cup, win something.
“I think everybody wants to win here. It’s the Toronto Maple Leafs — it’s one of the biggest teams in the world, and in the NHL. I’m so happy to be here.”