Kirill Marchenko's run with the Columbus Blue Jackets might be closer to the end than anyone expected, and it happened fast this weekend.
On Saturday, NHL Rumour Report's Daria Tuboltseva reported that Marchenko is expected to be traded by the Blue Jackets in the near future, citing a source close to the winger.
The production makes it sting. Marchenko posted 27 goals and 40 assists for 67 points across 76 games this season, with seven game-winners mixed in.
Columbus has cooled off badly at the wrong time. The Blue Jackets sit 40-30-12, losers of two straight, and just 2-7-1 over their last ten games.
Marchenko is still cheap for that kind of output, carrying a $3,850,000 cap hit before he hits restricted free agency in 2026-27.
That combination is exactly what rebuilding clubs dangle and contenders chase. Someone is going to call Columbus about it.
Trading a 26-year-old winger coming off a career year, while he is still this affordable, only makes sense if Columbus is convinced it gets a real return.
Anything less and general manager Don Waddell wears this for years.
The fan reaction moved just as fast as the report. Bleed Oil Blue, an Oilers account, shared it Saturday night with one line.
What a dream it would be to see two Russians in Edmonton's top six, the post read, tagging Marchenko directly.
Two Russians in Edmonton's top six? Oilers fans are already dreaming
Vasily Podkolzin is the other name in that vision, and he just wrapped a strong season of his own with 19 goals and 37 points over 82 games in Edmonton.
Podkolzin comes cheap too, carrying a $1,000,000 cap hit, and he has been rolling lately with eight points over his last ten games.
Would the Oilers, already committed long-term to Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, actually have room to fit another cap hit onto the books?
That is the math nobody in Edmonton wants to run out loud.
Slotting another scorer into an already loaded top six is like adding a second starting quarterback to a team with only one job open.
Somebody sits, and it is rarely the guy making the least.
Head coach Mike Babcock has ridden a hot Oilers group lately, winners of six of their last ten games in the standings.
Fitting a new winger onto the timeline is easy. Fitting him onto the cap sheet is a different problem entirely.
Nothing here is signed, and Columbus has not confirmed a single word of it publicly.
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But Marchenko's name is moving through league circles faster than almost anyone else's right now, and that alone should worry Blue Jackets fans.
Should the Blue Jackets trade Kirill Marchenko to the Oilers if Edmonton comes calling?
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