Kirill Marchenko's official status against the Montreal Canadiens has been confirmed

Toronto has confirmed that Kirill Marchenko will make his debut in the season opener for the Maple Leafs against Montreal, per Elliotte Friedman.

The Maple Leafs will have newly acquired forward Kirill Marchenko in the lineup against the Montreal Canadiens for their season opener on Tuesday. The news's broken by Elliotte Friedman ox X:

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Marchenko was part of a blockbuster deal that sent Matthew Knies as well as Steven Lorentz and Emil Andrae to the Blue Jackets.

No word yet on where Marchenko will line up for Toronto.

Marchenko could earn top billing immediately

Obviously we can envision Marchenko being next to Auston Matthews as soon as the team takes the ice, but he also could be a great addition to the second line. But focusing on the first line, Marchenko, Matthews, and Jack Roslovic make for a scary trio who are fast, creative, and all have lethal finishing.

Marchenko is also a much better playmaker than Knies could ever be, and Matthews is going to benefit from his high level possession numbers. Only Nathan MacKinnon was better at 5v5 for xGF%, and Matthews needs to have someone who can make things happen for him.

Toronto's lineup is going to be potent especially on the power-play

Adding Marchenko is a pretty impressive feat in its own right however even if the team didn't have him - they'd be dangerous. Auston Matthews looks ready to do damage and find his former 60-goal self, Gavin McKenna is trying to cement his name early on, William Nylander and John Tavares are hungry, and Darren Raddysh is a new threat on the point.

The power-play is going to be a huge factor and one of the things that needs to be focused on to make the most dangerous version it can be.

Having five elite scoring threats on the ice at one time will make or break the Maple Leafs' season and Daniel Alfredsson will need to make sure he brings the same level of creativity and success he brought in Ottawa.

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