In one month, NHL training camps will be open across the NHL. As is the case with most teams, rosters are likely to be what they currently are. It certainly feels like that is the case for the Boston Bruins and generla manager Don Sweeney.
However, across the NHL, some players appear to be stuck in situations where a change is either needed or wanted. One of those teams that has some players whose futures are in doubt is the Columbus Blue Jackets. One of those players is forward Kirill Marchenko. As the 2026 NHL Entry Draft was kicking off in Buffalo, Kevin Weekes of ESPN reported that Marchenko was unlikely to sign a contract extension with the Blue Jackets.
That, of course, began all kinds of trade speculation surrounding Marchenko. If Columbus makes him available, there would be no shortage of suitors lined up to try to acquire him. He is entering the final season of his current contract that carries an AAV of $3.9 million. He will be an unrestricted free agent (UFA) next summer, and if he truly doesn't have intentions of re-signing with the Blue Jackets, then trading him makes sense.
Lyle Richardson of Bleacher Report listed five potential trade destinations for Marchenko, and as far as the Bruins are concerned, three of the five landing spots were in the Atlantic Division.
3 Atlantic Division teams are listed as potential Kirill Marchenko
Marchenko was selected in the second round of the 2018 Entry Draft by the Blue Jackets in the 2018 Entry Draft, 49th overall, and has turned into one of the top-rising young forwards in the league. In 76 games last season, he had 27 goals and 40 assists for a Blue Jackets team that narrowly missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the Eastern Conference. In 292 career games, he has 102 goals and 208 assists.
So yes, he's a very impactful player, and if he becomes available, he could be a difference-maker for a team. Richardson listed the Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, and Buffalo Sabres as three potential landing spots. Any of those would not be good for the Bruins. The other two teams listed were in the Western Conference: the Utah Mammoth and Seattle Kraken.
As the three Atlantic Division teams go, Marchenko landing at any of those three destinations would not be good for the Black and Gold. Montreal is an up-and-coming team in the East, and adding Marchenko would only push them further ahead of the Bruins. The same for Buffalo, but Ottawa is an interesting destination. They just traded captain Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers and are trying to retool on the fly. Marchenko would certainly speed up the retool.
Even though Boston isn't a potential destination, this is something the front office needs to monitor. A destination within the division would not be good news for the Bruins.
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