The Columbus Blue Jackets just can’t stay out of the news cycle.
News came out yesterday from RG.org’s Daria Tuboltseva that there is still smoke surrounding the CBJ’s Kirill Marchenko, saying that he will be traded soon and that two teams are aiming to land the winger. Montreal has apparently been trying to land Marchenko for weeks and is still in the mix. Utah might be the other team interested in Marchenko as well, from what we’re hearing.
With Montreal seemingly the frontrunner to land Marchenko, fans and some people in the media have begun speculating on a return. We even did one here at THN-Columbus a few weeks ago, which you can read below.
Kirill Marchenko Trade Scenario #1: Montréal Canadiens
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Most of the trades that people have brought up involve guys like David Reinbacher and/or Michael Hage. But the player people seem always to bring up is forward Kirby Dach.
If Kirby Dach’s name is brought up, GM Don Waddell should immediately hang up and move on to the next team. There shouldn’t be any arguments either.
Dach is a former 3rd overall pick by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2019. After playing 152 games for the Blackhawks, he was traded to Montreal by Chicago for a 1st-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft and a 3rd-round pick in 2022 July 7, 2022.
He totaled 19 goals and 59 points in 152 games.
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Since his trade to Montreal, he’s played in 154 games. He’s scored 32 goals and totaled 77 points. His best year as a pro was the 22-23 season, which was his first in Montreal, in which he scored 14 goals and totaled 38 points.
He hasn’t had the best career for someone drafted third overall, and it sounds like the Canadiens fans may be hoping that Montreal GM Kent Hughes will try to get rid of his $3,600,000 per season salary, which is set to expire after next season.
Don Waddell should not accept salary dumps in any Kirill Marchenko trade. He has said he wants NHL players who can step in and fill the role that would be vacated by the player leaving. In this case, it would be a top-line winger.
Obviously, we’re not naive enough to think the Canadiens would trade any of their top-line players for Kirill Marchenko, but players that they don’t have room for on the NHL roster, such as David Reinbacher, or a soon-to-be NHLer like Michael Hage, would be a perfect return.
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But Kirby Dach should not be in any return for Kirill Marchenko.
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