Everyone loved Viktor Arvidsson's 2025-26 season for the Boston Bruins. Many feared that his career was dead when Don Sweeney acquired him from the Edmonton Oilers last offseason, but his resurgence was a big reason why Boston returned from the depths to make the playoffs, thanks to his surprising second-line excellence with Pavel Zacha and Casey Mittelstadt.
Per David Pagnotta, multiple teams have called about Kirill Marchenko, and Columbus is listening. Any deal would likely require a significant overpay to get the Blue Jackets to move him pic.twitter.com/ZqSOVmBNuX
— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) June 25, 2026
Even though Arvidsson played extremely well for the Bruins, that doesn't mean Sweeney owes him another contract this offseason. If anything, Arvidsson owes Boston a chance to sign another contract, but bringing the Swedish veteran back to hope he can catch lightning in a bottle for a second consecutive season might be too much of an ask.
Arvidsson, as the team's second-line right wing, doesn't inspire much confidence, but going out and making a trade for Kirill Marchenko from the Columbus Blue Jackets is the kind of move that can completely change the team's top six. Marchenko had a career year in 2024-25, recording 74 points in 79 games, a 32-point jump from his previous year.
Despite a slight seven-point step back last season, the Russian forward was still one of the more underrated wingers in the league. It leads many to ask why Columbus would explore trading him, but he is in the last year of a $3.85 annual contract, and the team might know that it's going to cost a large chunk of change to sign the then-25-year-old to an extension.
It's possible that Columbus is about to undergo some massive changes with all the Zach Werenski trade talk. It'd be intriguing for the Bruins to bring that defenseman in to join Charlie McAvoy, but if Columbus is focusing on that trade, it might be a good time for Boston to upgrade at another needed position.
Trading for Marchenko and signing him to a long-term extension improves current depth and gives the Bruins a bridge from the current core to the next core. Boston would be getting a bit of a logjam for right-shot wingers, but having too many options for the top-six would be a welcome change from the past few seasons.
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