The Toronto Maple Leafs made a blockbuster deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets on the eve of the regular season, sending winger Matthew Knies, defenseman Emil Andrae, winger Steven Lorentz, and a conditional second-round pick for winger Kirill Marchenko, winger Miles Wood, and goaltender Elvis Merzlikins (with 18% salary retained).
The Leafs had permission to talk extension with Marchenko’s agent Dan Milstein and agreed to a six-year, $75 million contract extension starting in the 2027-28 season prior to the deal being consummated.
This story is powered by Betalytics — the intelligent platform for sports betting — and by Rude Hockey apparel.
Leafs GM John Chayka indicated that the goal is to get Marchenko in the lineup for the season opener against the Montreal Canadiens at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday, but that will depend on his being able to get all of his immigration paperwork in order.
The deal is controversial in my mind and risky for Chayka, since Knies was entering year two of a six-year contract at a very reasonable $7.75 million AAV. The 23-year-old nearly scored 30 goals two years ago, had 43 assists last season, and is someone who lays the body on a consistent basis.
Marchenko, 26, is thought to be more of a sniper and is a big-bodied winger, but his career-high is 31 two years ago, and after this season at just under $4 million will be making $4.75 million more than Knies. The criticism of this deal is not that Marchenko is good; it is whether he is better than Knies and so much better that he will be the second-highest-paid Leafs player behind Auston Matthews.
The other parts of the deal: Miles Wood is still an effective depth forward, but cleared waivers because he has three years left on his deal. Chayka indicated that the 31-year-old will start the season in the AHL, but he will likely be the first call-up for the Leafs. Elvis Merzlikins had offseason shoulder surgery that is expected to keep him out for four to six months, but it is hard to imagine that he will ever play a game in blue and white.
Merzlikins was a pure salary dump and likely the price that any team acquiring Marchenko had to pay to get the trade done. Lorentz was also waived and in the same position as Wood was in Columbus, so the deal represents a fresh start for both. Andrae, who was acquired in the Joseph Woll deal, is reflective of how bad that trade was. The diminutive blueliner was barely noticeable during training camp and lost his spot on the Leafs roster after the signing of Nick Blankenburg.
Toronto also gave up the conditional second-round pick that they acquired in the Bobby McMann deal with Seattle, but they still have their own second in the 2027 NHL Draft. Chayka and the organization clearly are believers that Marchenko is an impact scorer who will slot in on the right side of one of the top two lines.
It is possible that he will take Knies spot on the left side with Auston Matthews and Jack Roslovic, but in the near future, you could see him shift to the right side, with Easton Cowan moving into the top six and Gavin McKenna moving to the top line.
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (0-0-0 – 0 POINTS) vs. MONTRÉAL CANADIENS (0-0-0 – 0 POINTS)
September 29, 2026 ▪ 7:00 PM EST ▪ SCOTIABANK ARENA (TORONTO, ON)
TV: SPORTSNET ▪ RADIO: SPORTSNET 590
MAPLE LEAFS HISTORY vs. CANADIENS
| All-Time Record: | 318-350-88-20 (776 Games) |
| All-Time Home Record: | 202-129-45-10 (387 Games) |
| 2025-26: | 1-2-1 |
| Last Five: | 2-2-1 |
| Last 10: | 6-3-1 |
| First Matchup Between Clubs: | December 25, 1917 (Toronto 7 vs. Montreal 5) |
| All-Time Record: | 318-350-88-20 (776 Games) |
| All-Time Home Record: | 202-129-45-10 (387 Games) |
| All-Time Road Record: | 116-221-43-9 (389 Games) |
| Last Home Win vs. Opponent: | October 8, 2025 (Montreal 2 vs. Toronto 5) |
| MONTRÉAL | TORONTO | |
| Goals For Per Game: | 3.40 (7th) | 3.07 (16th) |
| Goals Against Per Game: | 3.06 (16th) | 3.60 (31st) |
| Power Play %: | 23.1 (10th) | 21.3 (15th) |
| Penalty Kill %: | 78.2 (18th) | 81.2 (8th) |
| Shots For Per Game: | 26.3 (18th-T) | 26.3 (18th-T) |
| Shots Against Per Game: | 27.8 (18th) | 32.4 (32nd) |
| Faceoff %: | 51.0 (11th) | 54.2 (3rd) |
| (NHL rank in parenthesis) | ||
Tonight’s Matchup
The Toronto Maple Leafs open the 2026-27 regular season against the Montreal Canadiens at Scotiabank Arena in the first-of-four meetings between the two clubs. Toronto posted a 1-2-1 record against the Canadiens in the 2025-26 season.
Leafs Last Game
The Maple Leafs completed their final two pre-season games on Wednesday, September 23rd against the Ottawa Senators. Both Maple Leafs sqauds were victorious with the group in Toronto skating to a 6-1 victory and the group in Ottawa skating to a 3-2 victory – both in regulation.
NHL Debuts
Gavin McKenna will make his highly anticipated NHL debut for the Maple Leafs on Tuesday night. The Whitehorse, Yukon native was selected first overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the2026 NHL Entry Draft in Buffalo.
Home › Forums › Leafs Vs. Canadiens, Thoughts On Big Trade
Tagged: nhl, Toronto Maple Leafs