The Toronto Maple Leafs have been one of the busiest teams in the NHL this off-season, adding Jim Hiller as their new Head Coach to go along with John Chayka in the GM role. Early in their Leafs tenure, the front office has been busy, landing Gavin McKenna with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, along with the likes of Jack Roslovic, Darren Raddysh, and Sergei Bobrovsky as veteran help.
They clearly weren't done, however, as rumors emerged on Monday that the team was targeting Kirill Marchenko of the Columbus Blue Jackets, and after a few hours of waiting, the deal was made official.
Along with Marchenko, the team will be getting Miles Wood and goaltender Elvis Merzlikins, and according to Pierre LeBrun, Columbus will be retaining 18% of the veteran goaltender (he is owed $5.4 million in 2026/27, the final year of his deal), who will begin the season on the Injured Reserve.
Not only that, but to make the deal happen, Toronto signed Marchenko to a long-term deal, with his agent Dan Milstein revealing on social media that his newest contract will be $12.5 million per season over the next eight years.
While Marchenko, coming off 74-point and 67-point campaigns, is a great pickup for Toronto, he certainly didn't come cheap, as the Blue Jackets acquired talented 23-year-old Matthew Knies in the deal along with Emil Andrae, Steven Lorentz and a 2027 second-round pick in the process.
For a Blue Jackets team that just signed Adam Fantilli long-term, with Kent Johnson, Valeri Nichushkin and others in the top-six, adding a gritty, talented winger like Knies is a fantastic return for Marchenko, who made it clear this off-season that he didn't want to remain with Columbus long-term.
In Toronto, Marchenko will play a key role in the top-six with Auston Matthews, Gavin McKenna, Roslovic, William Nylander and John Tavares, with the revamped lineup looking like one of the NHL's best.
On paper, this is a deal that helps both teams in a big way, as Columbus continue adding young talent to the organization while Toronto acquire a player that can help raise their ceiling for years to come alongside Auston Matthews, although it was a deal that came together quickly that very few saw coming.
