{"id":769264,"date":"2026-06-29T17:19:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T17:19:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/769264\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T17:19:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T17:19:13","slug":"possible-trade-destinations-for-blue-jackets-defenceman-zach-werenski","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/769264\/","title":{"rendered":"Possible trade destinations for Blue Jackets defenceman Zach Werenski"},"content":{"rendered":"

The idea a defenceman like Columbus Blue Jacket Zach Werenski<\/a> could be had via trade is enough to make anybody snap to attention. The notion he might pair up with an old buddy who could also be on the move is downright flabbergasting.<\/p>\n

Speaking on the\u00a032 Thoughts\u00a0podcast that dropped Monday morning, Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman \u2014 acknowledging he was just \u201cspit-balling\u201d \u2014 wondered aloud if Werenski and Detroit Red Wings centre Dylan Larkin \u2014 two good pals from Michigan \u2014 could actually wind up on the same squad.<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of me has wondered if there\u2019s a team that could pull off both guys,\u201d Friedman said, blowing back the well-coiffed hair of co-host Kyle Bukauskas<\/p>\n

The clubs Friedman mused about specifically? Vegas and Dallas.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s almost too much to imagine Werenski and Larkin \u2014 who have both had conversations with their current teams about moving on \u2014\u00a0landing on the same NHL squad. For now, we\u2019ll zero in on Werenski, letting Friedman\u2019s comments from\u00a032 Thoughts\u00a0guide us toward a handful of teams that are logical destinations if the reigning Norris Trophy winner is, in fact, dealt by the Columbus Blue Jackets<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re talking about a move as big as potentially trading Werenski, it\u2019s rarely straightforward.<\/p>\n

That said, when you play the checking-boxes game, a swap between Columbus and Dallas makes a lot of sense.<\/p>\n

First off, the Stars would seem to fulfil Werenski\u2019s desire to be on a team that can win the Cup beginning as early as 2027. If you\u2019re Dallas, you\u2019d feel pretty good about the odds you can retain Werenski beyond the summer of 2028, when he\u2019s currently eligible to become a free agent.<\/p>\n

As for the Jackets, GM Don Waddell is pretty clear \u2014 Werenski or no Werenski \u2014 he wants a competitive team next fall in Ohio and isn\u2019t looking to land three teenagers for his star defenceman.<\/p>\n

\"3232 Thoughts: The Podcast<\/p>\n

Hockey fans already know the name, but this is not the blog. From Sportsnet, 32 Thoughts: The Podcast with NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas is a weekly deep dive into the biggest news and interviews from the hockey world.<\/p>\n

Latest episode<\/a><\/p>\n

So what about a young, established blue-liner who could immediately become his new No. 1?<\/p>\n

\u201cOn its [face], I find it hard to believe there\u2019s a better trade out there for Columbus than Thomas Harley,\u201d said Friedman, referencing the 24-year-old who just finished his third full season in Texas.<\/p>\n

Now, as Friedman noted, Columbus would have to know Harley was on board with the notion of being dealt. Even though he doesn\u2019t have trade protection, nobody wants to swap one unhappy all-world defenceman for another.<\/p>\n

However, if moving to the Jackets \u2014 where he\u2019d be the unquestioned No. 1 \u2014 intrigued Harley, Columbus would certainly be making the best of a tough situation by recouping a player who\u2019s locked up for his best years through 2033-34.<\/p>\n

Just for fun, let\u2019s quickly circle back to the idea one team \u2014 in this case, Dallas \u2014 could land Werenski and Larkin. Is there any world where those two buddies go to Texas, pending RFA Jason Robertson comes to Detroit on a new contract and the Jackets land Harley?<\/p>\n

What a whopper that would be.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI 100 per cent believe Toronto will try,\u201d Friedman said, being unequivocal about the Leafs\u2019 desire to supercharge a blueline makeover with Werenski.<\/p>\n

What Friedman did flag, though, is whether Werenski would see Toronto as a club that can win right now.<\/p>\n

Again, there does seem to be some kind of transaction building block in place with the Leafs\u2019 apparent willingness to deal 23-year-old power forward Matthew Knies. If Columbus can\u2019t get a defenceman back for Werenski, perhaps it could grab Knies, then maybe leverage another player whose name has hit the rumour mill \u2014 winger Kirill Marchenko\u00a0\u2014 to fill a need on the blueline.<\/p>\n

As always, there are a few moving parts in the desert. The Knights opened up some cap space by dealing away Pavel Dorofeyev at the draft and still have some business to tend to with pending-UFA defenceman Rasmus Anderson. The Knights are also said to be looking at the futures of forward Tomas Hertl and goalie Adin Hill.<\/p>\n

Clearing the space to not only get Werenski, but keep him in Nevada long-term is probably doable for the Golden Knights. Where Vegas might hit a roadblock, though, is \u2014 especially with Dorofeyev already dealt \u2014 there\u2019s not an obvious starting point for a desirable return from Columbus\u2019 perspective the way there is with Dallas and Toronto.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Friedman didn\u2019t mention the Hurricanes by name, but it feels safe to say Carolina is a logical candidate.<\/p>\n

First off, the Canes are the defending Cup champions, so that should take care of any questions Werenski has about the club\u2019s ability to win.<\/p>\n

And, really, Carolina just won the title without an elite puck-mover driving things from the back end. Could you imagine throwing Werenski on a core that already includes his Team USA buddy and all-world defensive D-man Jaccob Slavin?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Carolina has the cap space to make this work, especially if it can find a taker for centre Jesperi Kotkaniemi.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Canes also have intriguing pieces to dangle, like 24-year-old defenceman Alexander Nikishin (who needs a new contract) and a ripe forward prospect like 21-year-old Bradly Nadeau.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re Waddell, the idea of landing cornerstone pieces on both the blueline and up front is a comforting thought while navigating the difficult terrain of trying to deal a stud defenceman like Werenski.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The idea a defenceman like Columbus Blue Jacket Zach Werenski could be had via trade is enough to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":769265,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-769264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/769264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=769264"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/769264\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/769265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=769264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=769264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=769264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}