![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/columbus-blue-jackets-v-new-york-rangers-new-york-new-york-e1785024542452.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
The Montreal Canadiens could be closing in on a late-summer stunner, potentially finding something they’ve been looking for.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s hardly a secret that the Montreal Canadiens are looking to add a top-six forward. That\u2019s a narrative that\u2019s been in the pipeline for quite a while now.<\/p>\n
But now, there\u2019s an interesting rumor<\/a> that could lead to a late-summer stunner.<\/p>\n According to Daria Tuboltseva of RG Media, the Columbus Blue Jackets are looking to move<\/a> forward Kirill Marchenko. The report states that an unnamed source has confirmed a deal could be imminent.<\/p>\n \u201cKirill is essentially between two teams right now. The parties are now negotiating the terms of the trade.\u201d<\/p>\n That shouldn\u2019t be a surprise. Marchenko\u2019s name has been on the trade block for a while. The 26-year-old is heading into the final year of his current three-year, $11.5 million deal. And it\u2019s precisely because of that that the Blue Jackets are looking to move him. The team likely knows it won\u2019t be able to re-sign him, so a trade seems like the best way out.<\/p>\n The other team in question, however, appears to be the Canadiens. Tuboltseva linked a comment by fellow RG journalist Marco D\u2019Amico who claimed that the Habs have Marchenko in their sights.<\/p>\n There\u2019s certainly credit to D\u2019Amico\u2019s comments. In his fourth full season, Marchenko has continued to put up solid numbers. His 27 goals and 67 points were a slight downtick from 2024-25\u2019s 31 goals and 74 points.<\/p>\n If the Canadiens were to land Marchenko, it would fill a significant hole. While the Habs would prefer a center, the next best thing would be a scoring winger like Marchenko.<\/p>\n Friedman Discussed Canadiens\u2019 Interest in Marchenko<\/p>\n A notable insider, Elliotte Friedman, initially discussed the Canadiens\u2019 interest in Marchenko<\/a>. During his end-of-year four-hour podcast, Friedman dropped an interesting tidbit about the Habs\u2019 looking to add a top-six forward, with Marchenko being a main target.<\/p>\n \u201cThe one bit of frustration for the Canadiens\u2026 they are still trying to sort out, could they find a younger, top-six forward, like somebody in their 20s? And they would be aggressive, like really aggressive, and I think Marchenko would potentially be one of those players.\u201d<\/p>\n While Friedman shot down the rumor at the time, bear in mind that the podcast dropped on July 6. A lot could have changed in about three weeks. Perhaps the Blue Jackets held on to the hope of extending him.<\/p>\n But now, it might just be that the organization has given up and is looking to move him before potentially losing Marchenko for nothing.<\/p>\n What Could Montreal Give up for Marchenko?<\/p>\n The biggest question moving forward would be what the Canadiens would be willing to give up for Marchenko. It\u2019s implausible that the club would be willing to part with someone like Oliver Kapanen.<\/a><\/p>\n Everyone talks about Kapanen, with several teams wanting him as part of any deal. But the Canadiens just aren\u2019t doing that. So, that might leave one of the Habs\u2019 lower-tier prospects like Filip Mesar or Bryce Pickford up for grabs.<\/p>\n One interesting name to watch, however, could be Arber Xhekaj. The enforcer is an RFA at the moment. There hasn\u2019t been much movement on that front, with chatter suggesting several teams are interested.<\/p>\n Could the two main pieces be Marchenko and Xhekaj? It will take a lot more than just Xhekaj to pluck Marchenko away from Columbus. But he could be one of the pieces the Canadiens are dangling in front of the Blue Jackets.<\/p>\n The only other issue would be sorting out Marchenko\u2019s new contract. The deal likely depends on an extension, but that\u2019s a story for another day.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tNestor Quixtan<\/a> Seasoned NHL and NFL analyst and baseball writer focused on covering clubs across each league with news, analysis, and insights. Originally from Toronto, Canada, Nestor’s singular experiences and background have enabled him to bring a different take on the sports world as a whole. Nestor’s fondness for baseball, football, and hockey set the tone for his love and passion for writing about sports. More about Nestor Quixtan<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty The Montreal Canadiens could be closing in on a late-summer stunner, potentially finding something they’ve been looking…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":826330,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194292],"tags":[49,48,2338],"class_list":["post-826329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-montreal","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-montreal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/826329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=826329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/826329\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/826330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=826329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=826329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=826329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}