‘I definitely think it’ll kick up again’: Zach Werenski ready for more trade rumours

HENDERSON, NV — Zach Werenski understands the game.

Star player nears contract expiration, fans and analysts drum up trade possibilities.

And so, despite the reigning Norris Trophy winner’s best efforts to quiet the noise that he could be dealt by the Columbus Blue Jackets before his current deal expires in 2028, he won’t be shocked to hear his name resurface in the rumour mill this season.

“I think it’s going to kick up until we have an extension. That’s just the nature of it. I think social media does that a lot as well. Fans are going to speculate. I think Quinn (Hughes)’s situation right now is in the forefront of his mind — what he’s going to do. So, yeah, I definitely think it’ll kick up again,” Werenski told Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas Wednesday during a recording of their 32 Thoughts podcast. 

“I hope it doesn’t. I believe that we're going to be a playoff team this year, and there’s nothing to talk about, and we're just focused on that. But I guess I wouldn't be surprised if I saw it kick up. Not because I want it to. It's just the nature of contracts and everything that transpired over the summer.”

What transpired, according to Friedman’s reporting on July 1, was a verbal trade agreement between the Dallas Stars and Blue Jackets that would have sent Werenski to Texas and stud Stars D-man Thomas Harley as the centrepiece in a return to Columbus.

Werenski — who holds a full no-move clause — apparently vetoed the deal. It was suggested that, were he to be moved, the player would prefer an Eastern Conference landing spot.

The Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs were reported as two opponents to which Werenski would be willing to accept a trade.

“You always think of possibilities, right? Like, I’m not going to say I didn’t think there was ever a possibility of it. But I knew deep down that wasn’t what I was going to do,” Werenski said. 

“I knew I was going back to Columbus. I knew in my head that I wanted to be a Blue Jacket. Yeah, I guess I started to hear noise, and the possibilities start to cross your mind, I guess, but that was never something that I wanted to happen.”

Werenski, who tasted gold in Milan, wants to win. He says the trade buzz stirred after the Jackets faltered down the stretch, missed the playoffs for a sixth consecutive spring, and his cleanout conversations with the front office got misconstrued.

With Dylan Larkin, Connor Hellebuyck, and Brady Tkachuk all requesting trades after disappointing ends to their respective teams’ seasons, NHL fans believed Werenski was the next star happy to move.

The defenceman prides himself on a level-headed approach to life, but the swirling speculation and blizzard of reports affected him.

“Just felt different around the house and, like, even sleeping. I was not sleeping great, and it just felt like a lot because I really wasn't sure what was going on and how it was all happening, and I just wanted clarity on it,” Werenski explained. 

That’s when he called GM Don Waddell, cleared the air, and got things back on track. The two parties released all-good, nothing-to-see-here statements through the club’s PR department. Werenski stands by his statement today and chalks up this summer's uncertainty as a learning experience.

“We were both on the same page immediately. That was a pretty quick call. It was just like, ‘Hey, this is where I'm going to be,’” Werenski explained. 

“It wasn't some like hour-long call to try to figure things out. It was a four-minute phone call about how to get it back on track, and I think we both found out we’re on the same page.”

It’s important to note that, unlike Hughes today, Werenski is unable to sign an extension with his current team until July 1, 2027. Even if that were his desire.

But Waddell finds himself in a similar position to the Canucks at the outset of the 2025-26 campaign. His Norris winner wants team success, not just a fat payday. And the executive can ill afford to let a talent this elite walk for nothing.

So, if Jackets aren’t in contention by the 2027 trade deadline, Werenski’s prediction will come true. The trade winds will blow again.

And two playoff runs with Werenski running point would be worth much more than one.