Imagine Marchenko, Matthews, and Instant Chemistry
There’s nothing quite like a new Maple Leaf arriving in Toronto and immediately getting thrown into the lineup against Montreal. That’s what’s happening with Kirill Marchenko. The Maple Leafs acquired the 25-year-old winger from Columbus on Monday, and after sorting out his work visa situation, he’s ready to go Tuesday night against the Canadiens. No easing into things. No sitting in the press box to watch his new teammates for a couple of games.
Welcome to Toronto, Kirill. Here’s your jersey. Now go play. Honestly, don’t you have to be curious? Can you manufacture instant chemistry? Maybe not. But at least you have the ingredients.
How will Matthews and Marchenko mix and match?
Marchenko scored 27 goals and 67 points in 76 games for Columbus last season. He also put 218 shots on net. Those numbers tell us something pretty simple: this is a player who wants the puck and wants to shoot it. In fact, with Jack Roslovic, you have three players who can score on any shift.
That alone makes the Maple Leafs top line interesting in Toronto. But another part of this move is even more interesting.
The Maple Leafs just traded Matthew Knies to Columbus. And if you watched Knies develop in Toronto, you know what the Maple Leafs are losing. Knies was becoming that big, strong winger who could get to the net, protect the puck, battle along the boards and make life uncomfortable for opposing defencemen.
Marchenko isn’t Knies. And that may actually be the point. John Chayka didn’t try to find another Matthew Knies. He went looking for something different.
Related: Three Thoughts About the Marchenko–Knies Trade
Marchenko brings something different from what Knies brought.
Marchenko brings offensive instincts, a willingness to shoot and, presumably, the ability to play in a top-six role and contribute on the power play. That gives Toronto another player who can create offence rather than simply support it. It also tells us something about how Chayka appears to be building this team.
He’s not collecting players who all do the same thing. He seems to be collecting pieces. Some players bring size. Some bring speed. Some bring defensive responsibility. Some bring offence. And some, like Marchenko, are being asked to provide a little more imagination.
That’s the interesting part of tonight. Marchenko is going to be Marchenko. There’s no time to be anything else. Will it fit seamlessly? Who knows at this point? And for the Maple Leafs, the big question is whether this new piece fits better into the picture Chayka is trying to paint.
Maple Leafs fans will be watching this game pretty closely tonight.
Because sometimes the most interesting thing about a new player isn’t what he did with his old team. It’s what his arrival tells us about the team that wanted him. It’s simply going to be fun to watch three very offensive players on the top line. Who passes to whom? Who shoots? Who takes over when the game gets moving?
How will they do in their debut game? It could be amazing, and it could be a bit of a fire drill. That's the fun of it tonight.