Report: Blue Jackets’ Werenski vetoes trade to Stars
The Zach Werenski sweepstakes continue to unfold, as we’ve learned another key piece of information about where the Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman will go: he wants to stay in the Eastern Conference.
According to several insiders (first reported by TSN’s Darren Dreger), the Blue Jackets had a trade in place with the Dallas Stars to send Werenski there, but the defenseman was unwilling to waive his no-trade clause.
I believe Dallas was team that stepped up and presented a trade option CBJ was willing to work with. Sounds like Werenski’s preference is to stay east.
Sources say Zach Werenski was presented with a trade option to a team he's unwilling to waive his NMC for. His #CBJ situation seems to be devolving. Werenski never formally requested a trade, but has had honest talks about the future since April. Unclear where this goes next.
The Fourth Period and Daily Faceoff insider Dave Pagnotta later followed up with more info, revealing that Thomas Harley was part of the pack going to Dallas. TSN and The Athletic insider Pierre LeBrun also added that Werenski’s top teams to be dealt to are the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Following up on @reporterchris & @DarrenDreger… scuttlebutt tonight is Werenski rejected a trade to Dallas, in a deal that is believed to have included Harley. Tampa Bay remains engaged in talks here. Philly was in mix too, but seems like TB is Werenski’s top choice right now.
Will reiterate again that Tampa Bay and Toronto would be among the top teams I think Werenski would accept a trade to. But can those teams satisfy CBJ trade requirements remains to be seen.
Sources say Zach Werenski was presented with a trade option to a team he's unwilling to waive his NMC for. His #CBJ situation seems to be devolving. Werenski never formally requested a trade, but has had honest talks about the future since April. Unclear where this goes next.
It’s an unfortunate development for the Blue Jackets, because if there was any team who could have offered the closest replacement for Werenski in terms of both their quality of play and their age being in the window of contention with the rest of their core was Harley. It would have been easy to make the money work for the Stars as well, as the $10,587,000 cap hit on Harley’s new contract is actually around $1 million more than Werenski’s $9,583,334 cap hit.
If the Blue Jackets are looking for a replacement on their blueline in deals with the Lightning and Leafs, they’ll be in a much more complicated spot. Victor Hedman and Morgan Rielly are probably the best option on both teams, but both are older and not at the level of Werenski at this stage of their careers.
However, the Leafs do have at least one asset who could be a tempting addition for Columbus, as Matthew Knies has had his name in plenty of rumours this summer, even going back to the 2026 trade deadline where they couldn’t get a trade with the Montreal Canadiens involving the winger to the finish line. Knies has a unique skillset as a big, speedy scoring winger that Toronto has lacked for a majority of the Auston Matthews era, so they aren’t rushing to move on from the player. But if the right offer comes their way, or they can use him to land a big name player in a position of need like center or defenseman (a.k.a. Werenski), they’d likely make the move.
Werenski is coming off of another strong season, as he nearly matched his career-high from the 2024-25 season with 22 goals and 59 assists for 81 points in 2025-26, but he did surpass his best scoring pace, as he did it in 75 games this season. He was named the winner of the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman for his season.