Ice Breaker: Toronto buys Marchenko, and opening night finally arrives

Opening night is finally here, and the league spent its last quiet Monday making sure nobody would talk about it. Toronto traded Matthew Knies for Kirill Marchenko, then paid Marchenko like a franchise winger. Five games tonight, and the Leafs get Montreal with the new guy in the building.

Maple Leafs get Marchenko, Blue Jackets get Knies

Toronto gets Marchenko, winger Miles Wood and goalie Elvis Merzlikins. Columbus gets Knies, Steven Lorentz, Emil Andrae and a conditional 2027 second-round pick. Then Marchenko signed a six-year, $75 million extension that runs through 2032-33.

Gord has the grades and how the deal came together.

Lind's read: Merzlikins is the accounting in this trade. He's a $5.4 million goalie with one year left, out indefinitely after shoulder surgery, and he's the reason the salaries line up. The full Contract card is in Marcus's piece.

Sully's chirp: Don Waddell said in July that Marchenko would open the season in Columbus. He missed by one day and one border crossing, which in Columbus now counts as a moral victory.

Eight Panthers clear, Winnipeg grabs a goalie

All eight Panthers on Sunday's wire cleared and were sent to Charlotte: Cole Reinhardt, Cole Schwindt, Kai Schwindt, John Beecher, Sam Lafferty, Nathan Bastian, Alexander Petrovic and Donovan Sebrango. Florida carries 21 players into the opener.

The claim of the day went the other way. Winnipeg took goalie Clay Stevenson off waivers from Washington, a 27-year-old with five NHL games, to back up Stuart Skinner.

Pabs: Nobody claimed Reinhardt, so the guy who won this camp is one phone call away instead of wearing somebody else's sweater. With Marchand and Gadjovich both on injured reserve on the left side, I think that phone rings before Halloween.

Lind's number: $12.5 million

That's Marchenko's cap hit starting next season, the same as Connor McDavid's. It's about 11 percent of next year's $113.5 million ceiling, and McDavid plays tonight, so you can watch the comparable live.

Sully's take of the morning

Carolina raises its Cup banner tonight, and the guest of honor is the two-time champ that missed the playoffs. Grade the schedule-maker an A. Florida's only move is to make that building quiet by the second intermission.

Buddy, I'm begging you, wait until the banner is all the way up before you take a penalty. Sully has the ring with the mascot inside it, and yes, that's real.

Gord's whisper

San Jose has kicked the tires on Connor Hellebuyck, Friedman said, and nobody's saying who called whom. Grade: Reported. Real interest, no deal, and the Jets' new backup came off the wire yesterday. The rest is in Gord's Notebook.

Meg's line

Canada's first camp under Kori Cheverie opens Oct. 8 in Quebec City with 48 invites and no Marie-Philip Poulin, who's recovering from knee surgery. Meg has who gets the audition.

Tonight

It starts at 5 p.m. ET with Panthers at Hurricanes on ESPN, Jacob Markstrom expected in net and Carolina's banner going up first (game page).

Then Canadiens at Maple Leafs at 7 (Sportsnet and TVA Sports), with Oliver Kapanen day to day for Montreal and Alex Newhook covering at second-line center. Rangers at Bruins at 8 on ESPN is David Pastrnak's first game as captain. Canucks at Oilers at 10 (Sportsnet) and Blackhawks at Golden Knights at 10:30 on ESPN close it out.

The one to watch is Toronto: a new first-line winger, Montreal across the ice, and the whole country pretending it's not a big deal.