Kirill Marchenko trade to Canadian team gains steam as a third club might be involved
Photo credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Montreal Canadiens fans keep hearing Kent Hughes has done this before.
The Kirby Dach blueprint does not fit what he is attempting now.
Marco Normandin reported that closing a Canadiens deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets requires a third club to take Montreal's prospects and picks while sending an NHL player to Columbus.
He also flagged a Blue Jackets forward capable of playing center who nobody is discussing yet.
"I'm taking a brief break from my vacation, but here's the info I have:
1. Something is clearly going on between the Canadiens and the Blue Jackets, but to close a major deal, it would require a third team to take the Canadiens' prospects and draft picks and send an NHL player to Columbus-and that's what seems to be complicating the negotiations.
2. Montreal is obviously very interested in Marchenko, but he's not the only one. I'd keep an eye on a Blue Jackets forward capable of playing center who nobody is talking about right now."
- Marco Normandin
1. Something is clearly going on between the Canadiens and the Blue Jackets, but to close a major deal, it would require a third team to take the Canadiens' prospects and draft picks and send an NHL player to Columbus-and that's what seems to be complicating the negotiations.
2. Montreal is obviously very interested in Marchenko, but he's not the only one. I'd keep an eye on a Blue Jackets forward capable of playing center who nobody is talking about right now."
- Marco Normandin
That structure is the Kirby Dach trade run backwards.
On July 7, 2022, Montreal sent Alexander Romanov and the 98th overall pick to the New York Islanders for the 13th, then flipped the 13th and 66th to the Chicago Blackhawks for Dach.
Montreal supplied the body last time
Hughes never asked another club to donate a roster player. He manufactured the currency himself by moving a defenseman he could afford to lose.
The third team took the NHL body and surrendered the pick. Now the flow reverses, and Montreal has no obvious Romanov to sell.
Its surplus sits in prospects, picks and defensemen, which is exactly what Don Waddell does not want.
Columbus has every reason to wait
The Blue Jackets carry roughly $14.5 million in projected cap space, so this was never about salary relief.
Waddell hired Rick Bowness in January and still finished 40-30-12 for 92 points, a sixth straight year outside the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Kirill Marchenko led the club with 27 goals. Trading him for futures makes a seventh miss likelier, so a returning player is the only version Columbus can defend.
Marchenko carries a $3.85 million cap hit with one season left before restricted free agency and arbitration rights.
Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reported Sunday that nothing was moving on Marchenko, and Waddell has publicly denied trade talks.
This gets done when Hughes finds his 2026 Romanov, not when a third team volunteers.
Until then the delay is structural, not a negotiating quirk.
Also read on House Of Hockey :
Quinn Hughes gets embarrassed by bouncer while standing outside with brother Jack
Quinn Hughes gets embarrassed by bouncer while standing outside with brother Jack
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 27|134 ANSWERS Kirill Marchenko trade to Canadian team gains steam as a third club might be involved Should Kent Hughes trade a roster player to land Kirill Marchenko? | ||
| Yes | 89 | 66.4 % |
| No | 45 | 33.6 % |
| List of polls | ||