Leafs Pursuing Marchenko, Knies Headlining Potential Return to Columbus

 

The Toronto Maple Leafs are not done reshaping their roster. With the opening-night deadline looming at 5 p.m. ET Monday, the Leafs are working on a trade to bring Columbus Blue Jackets winger Kirill Marchenko to Toronto, with Matthew Knies among the pieces heading back the other way, according to TSN Hockey insiders Pierre LeBrun and Chris Johnston.

The deal isn't done. The sticking point is an extension. Toronto needs to get a new contract in place with Marchenko before the trade gets finalized, adding a layer of complexity to an already cap-sensitive transaction. Marchenko is in the final year of his current deal at a $3.85 million cap hit, set to become an unrestricted free agent at season's end. Knies carries a hit just under $4 million more than Marchenko this season, which is why multiple players are involved in the deal to help Columbus manage the offset after the Blue Jackets were pushed over the cap ceiling last week by Adam Fantilli's six-year, $13.75 million extension.

The math is driving this as much as the hockey is.

Marchenko is 25 years old and has been one of the more quietly consistent offensive players in the league since arriving in Columbus. He has topped 20 goals in each of his four NHL seasons, peaking with 31 goals and 74 points in 2024-25 before posting 27 goals and 67 points last season. He is exactly the kind of player new Leafs general manager John Chayka has been hunting since taking over in May, a proven scorer with upside still left in the tank and a cap number that gives Toronto room to maneuver.

Knies, by contrast, is entering year two of a six-year, $46.5 million deal at $7.75 million per season. He posted 23 goals and 66 points in 79 games last year, solid numbers that don't quite justify that cap burden when the team is trying to build flexibility around Auston Matthews. At 23 years old with 67 goals and 160 points in 240 career games, Knies is not a reclamation project. He is a player being moved because the dollars don't fit the direction anymore, and because Marchenko, if locked up long term, slots more cleanly into what Chayka is building.

Chayka was in a light mood when the subject came up at practice Monday. "I don't know if the trade rumours will ever stop around here," he said with a smile, defending Knies' camp performance while declining to comment on how the ongoing speculation might be affecting the winger mentally. That is the reality of playing in Toronto. The rumours don't stop. They just change names.

If the deal closes, Marchenko steps into a top-line role beside Matthews and Jack Roslovic. It would leave just four forwards from last year's roster in the projected opening-night lineup, a turnover rate that speaks to how aggressively Chayka has remade this group since May. Colton Sissons, Roslovic, Nick Paul, Teddy Blueger, Brandon Duhaime, Zack MacEwen, and first-overall pick Gavin McKenna have all arrived. Marchenko would be the capstone addition.

Don Waddell said in July that Marchenko would be a Blue Jacket when the season started. The season starts Tuesday. The clock is running.

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