The Marchenko Mystery: Is a Bot Account About to Break NHL News?

On X (formerly Twitter), the hockey world moves at the speed of an Elliotte Friedman tweet. Nothing feels official until Elliotte hits “send,” Chris Johnston backs it up, and the insiders collectively bless the news. In between, the platform is flooded with fake insiders, burner accounts, and anonymous “trust me bro” sources trying to farm engagement off chaos.

Every once in a while, though, something weird happens — something that makes you stop scrolling and wonder if one of these anonymous accounts actually stumbled into real information. And right now, one of the strangest “maybe?” storylines of the offseason involves a bot account that doesn’t claim to have sources, doesn’t pretend to know anyone, and doesn’t even speak.

It just tracks Instagram follows.

And it might be sniffing out a trade.

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The Rise of the Follow Tracker

The NHL Follow Tracker is exactly what it sounds like: a bot that monitors NHL players and logs every follow or unfollow they make on Instagram. Most of the time, it’s harmless noise — a player unfollows his old team after signing elsewhere, teammates follow each other after a trade, or a club quietly unfollows a player and his family after they move on or retire.

It’s digital housekeeping, not breaking news.

But every so often, something pops up that makes people wonder if there’s more to it. And with the Kirill Marchenko saga dragging into yet another week of speculation, fans are watching every breadcrumb.

Marchenko’s future is one giant question mark. Columbus doesn’t seem convinced he wants to stay. Marchenko doesn’t seem convinced Columbus is where he wants to be. Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton, Seattle — pick a team, and someone has linked them to him.

But now, a new team has entered the chat.

And the Follow Tracker noticed.

Bruins Players Start Following Marchenko

Over the last few days, Boston Bruins players have quietly started following Kirill Marchenko on Instagram. First it was David Pastrnak. Then Nikita Zadorov. And the Follow Tracker, doing what it does, posted the updates. Marchenko has also followed them back, something the Follow Tracker did not miss.

On their own, follows mean nothing. NHL players follow each other all the time. They train together, share agents, cross paths at camps, or simply like each other’s game.

But the timing? That’s what has people talking.

Boston has recently been linked to Marchenko. The Blue Jackets are over the cap until LTIR kicks in. Marchenko’s situation is clearly unstable. And suddenly, Bruins players are following him days after the rumors heat up.

Is it trolling? Is it coincidence? Is it something?

Even Greg Wyshynski of ESPN couldn’t resist chiming in, asking the question everyone is thinking:

“Are they f—king with us?”

Maybe they are. Maybe they aren’t.

But it’s undeniably interesting.

Are they f—king with us? https://t.co/bZLcinTLoo

— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) September 26, 2026

Could the Follow Tracker Actually Break a Trade?

Let’s be clear: this is probably nothing. NHL players follow each other constantly, and the offseason is full of random social‑media crossovers that mean absolutely zero.

Pastrnak and Marchenko might’ve trained together. Maybe Zadorov just likes the guy. Maybe they’re messing with fans because they know the Follow Tracker exists.

Those explanations are far more likely.

But the fun part — the part fans latch onto — is the idea that this bot account could accidentally stumble into its first real trade hint. Imagine beating Friedman because a player hit “follow” at the wrong time. Imagine a trade being foreshadowed not by insiders, not by leaks, but by a bot watching Instagram.

It would be absurd. It would be hilarious. And it would be one of the most uniquely modern NHL moments imaginable.

The timing is curious and the rumors are loud. The follows are real.

And even if it means nothing, it’s a lot more fun pretending it might.

Next: Did the Maple Leafs Make the Right Call Taking McKenna Over Stenberg