The Edmonton Oilers’ roster doesn’t seem perfect just yet.

With only two years left on Connor McDavid’s current contract, it feels like the Oilers are missing a top-six forward entering the 2026-27 season, especially with Matthew Savoie injured. That top-six addition could come before the trade deadline, but why wait if a top-six forward is available right now? 

It seems Kirill Marchenko may be available. According to Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos, the Oilers are just one of several teams that “seem poised” to make a deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets for the winger.

If the Oilers were to add Marchenko, it’d make a team already considered a contender that much better. Last season, the 26-year-old Russian scored 27 goals and 67 points in 76 games. That’s slightly below his career high of 31 goals and 74 points he scored in 2024-25, but he’s hit the 20-plus goal mark in all four seasons he’s played in the National Hockey League.

A right-winger, it’s easy to envision the Barnaul, Russia, product slotting in right beside Connor McDavid on the top line. It would give them a bona fide top six, as he’d join McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Savoie, Vasily Podkolzin, and Zach Hyman. 

Acquiring Marchenko would also have a secondary impact of giving the Oilers more depth, as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins could play alongside Jason Dickinson and Kasperi Kapanen on the third line, and who knows where Isaac Howard would factor into the lineup?

It’s hard to say that the Oilers wouldn’t be the favourite if they added a player like Marchenko, but it’s easier said than done. Marchenko is on an affordable $3.85 million cap hit for the 2026-27 season, meaning there are plenty of other teams who are no doubt interested in the........

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