New frontrunner emerges after Zach Werenski rejects trade to NHL powerhouse
Photo credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images
Zach Werenski has a preferred destination. But what his preference does to Columbus's negotiating position is the part nobody is saying out loud.
Per Pierre LeBrun on TSN's Insider Trading, Tampa Bay is Werenski's team of choice, with the Stars, Leafs, and Flyers still in the mix.
"The Tampa Bay Lightning are Zach Werenski's destination of choice. Stars, Maple Leafs, Flyers, and other teams are in the mix for him.
Blue Jackets prefer a hockey trade, rather than a futures deal."
- Pierre LeBrun
Blue Jackets prefer a hockey trade, rather than a futures deal."
- Pierre LeBrun
Don Waddell has been clear: the Columbus Blue Jackets want real NHL players back, not picks and prospects, in exchange for the 2026 Norris Trophy winner.
Werenski posted 22 goals and 81 points in 75 games last season and carries a $9.6 million cap hit through 2027-28 with a full no-movement clause.
The Stars deal was probably Columbus's best offer
Elliotte Friedman reported that Columbus and Dallas had a verbal agreement in place before Werenski's NMC veto ended it.
The Dallas Stars are asset-rich, and Thomas Harley was consistently named as the kind of player the Blue Jackets would want coming back.
That deal is gone. The team that likely had the richest hockey package on the table is no longer in play.
Tampa Bay now inherits frontrunner status, but the Lightning come with a real constraint. Their tradeable roster assets are thinner and their cap situation is tighter, which is exactly why LeBrun flagged a third team as a genuine possibility.
Player preference doesn't fix the cap math
Werenski wants Tampa. That does not mean Tampa can satisfy Columbus.
The Blue Jackets just watched their best offer disappear because of a veto, and now they are negotiating with a team that may need a third party to make the math work.
Columbus is no longer holding a full auction. They are waiting on a team with real structural limits to close a hockey trade without a clear path to do it.
The franchise that benefits most from Werenski's Dallas veto is not Columbus. It is every other suitor quietly watching the Blue Jackets' leverage shrink.
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