Maple Leafs already won the Kirill Marchenko trade after one game

Toronto Maple Leafs newly acquired forward, Kirill Marchenko registered a point 48 seconds into his career with the Blue and White and showed an immediate impact with the team, despite the team suffering a 3-2 loss.

If you're team eye-test, you would have noticed Marchenko's size and stature from the second he was announced in the starting lineup. At 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, the Barnaul, Russia native has long flowing hair, a big beard and a chipped front tooth that makes him look like he's two months into a playoff run.

That look and feel is a lot different than the rest of the team as you probably won't see Marchenko on the cover of GQ, which is something William Nylander and Auston Matthews aspire to. Without even touching the puck, I felt like Marchenko's impact would be immediate, and I wasn't wrong as he registered a point in his first shift.

Nylander did everything on the opening goal, so Marchenko's point was a somewhat phantom assist, but it still counts. However, he was all over the ice last night, showcasing his speed and great shot, registering four shots on net in 20:08 time-on-ice, only finishing behind Nylander in shots.

As much as we all liked Matthew Knies because of his ability to get to the net and forecheck, it's clear that he's a less superior player to Marchenko after one game. Marchenko's speed is elite and his shot was a rocket on multiple one-timers, and it's only a matter of time before he scores in bunches.

Not only did the eye-test show Marchenko's elite ability after Game 1, but the analytics back it up too. According to NHL Edge, Marchenko had elite speed metrics last season finishing 10th in the entire NHL in 20-plus mph speed burst and ranked in the 93rd percentile in max skating speed at 23.36 mph. That speed translated in Marchenko scoring 15 goals off the rush, finishing only behind Connor McDavid, Dylan Guenther, Cole Caufield and Matt Boldy.

Marchenko Looks Amazing After Game One

When you're in a category that combines goals and speed with McDavid, you know you're in elite company so I don't think Leafs fans really understand how good Marchenko is yet, but all of that showed in the first game.

Playing alongside Auston Matthews and Jack Roslovic, the three showed some chemistry but there's still a lot of work to do as a line. Roslovic and Marchenko played together in Columbus while Roslovic and Matthews played on a line with the US Development Team, but this was their first as a trio, so there's definitely some work to do. It felt like all three of them were in shoot-first mode, instead of one of them being focused on playmaking.

In a perfect world, it does feel like that line would be better suited with an elite playmaker at right-wing -- cough, cough, Mitch Marner, anyone? -- but Leafs fans shouldn't be too worried about it right now. Besides Nylander, Marchenko clearly looked like the Leafs best forward on the ice, and it wouldn't be shocking if he finished with close to 40 goals this year.

Kudos to John Chayka and the entire Leafs organization for making this move, because although it's only been one game, it looks like the right one.

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