The 2026-27 NHL Regular Season starts in a just four days, and with it, the Boston Bruins find themselves in the crosshairs of an extremely intriguing rumor.
Per elite and veteran NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman, the Bruins made a serious offer for Columbus Blue Jackets' disgruntled star Kirill Marchenko.
Marchenko, 26, posted 27 goals and 67 points in 76 games this past season with the Blue Jackets. The Russian winger posted 31 goals and 74 points in 79 games in 2024-25.
Marchenko's explosion as an NHL star led to him becoming a key player with the Jackets, and he is set to become a restricted free agent at season's end.
However, Marchenko's agent publicly declared that he won't be extending his stay in Columbus and has no interest in signing any deal to remain in Columbus at the 2026 NHL Draft, right when potential extension talks would have begun.
Since then, teams have started circling the waters, trying to land the star winger, with the Montreal Canadiens and the New York Islanders the two most interested, per Friedman.
Then, Friday morning, Friedman dropped a bigger piece news, directly involving the Bruins.
'Montreal, everybody knows about. The Islanders I mentioned a couple of pods ago... I heard Boston made an offer at one point."
The Bruins made an offer for Marchenko at some point this summer. While that's not exactly earth-shattering, it does show the type of player Boston's been after.
The way the situation is worded and handled makes one think that Marchenko had been discussed with Boston a while back. With the assets involved, it seems JJ Peterka was the guy Boston eventually landed, rather than Marchenko.
While Boston could still go out and acquire Marchenko, the cost of acquisition would be rather high. Intriguingly, some have speculated about a potential Pavel Zacha-Marchenko flip, as Columbus doesn't want to get a futures-based package.
If the Bruins see massive growth from Fraser Minten and reach a level of comfort with James Hagens as a center, it could make some sense.
However, all indications seem to remain that the Bruins' first priority is extending the Czech star, given his elite two-way play after potting 30 goals in the 2025-26 season.
Nothing spices up the end of the preseason like a big trade rumor story, especially one that's continuing to unfold every day, like this Marchenko story continues to do.
The Bruins conclude their preseason Friday night with a road game against the Washington Capitals.
