Glenn Kaplan
Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski will have two years remaining on his contract. He is 28 years old and there seems to be no progress on a new contract extension. Werenski won the Norris Trophy last season. In 75 games last season with Columbus, he scored 22 goals and recorded 59 assists, along with a plus/minus rating of +7.
With Brady Tkachuk being traded from the Ottawa Senators to the Florida Panthers for three first-round picks and one second-round selection, it will be interesting to see which other NHL players will get shopped this offseason. Three players who could potentially be shopped are Werenski, Dylan Larkin, and Connor Hellebuyck. If the Blue Jackets were to trade Werenski and begin a rebuild, which three NHL teams could potentially trade for him?
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders were in playoff positioning for most of the season in 2025-2026, but the Philadelphia Flyers were able to knock the Islanders out of the playoffs. New York decided to fire Patrick Roy as head coach and bring in Pete DeBoer as the next head coach. DeBoer’s teams will preach defensive structure. If New York were to make a trade for Werenski from the Blue Jackets, this is a team that could make serious noise in 2026-2027.
The Islanders already have defenseman Matthew Schafer who won the Calder Trophy last season. Schafer is already one of the top defensemen in the NHL. If New York were to make a move for Werenski, this would help the blueline big time. Having Werenski and Schafer on the backend would be very dangerous. They could also be on the top power play unit as well.
Detroit Red Wings
Instead of the Detroit Red Wings maybe trading away Dylan Larkin elsewhere, maybe they should trade for Werenski instead. General manager Steve Yzerman has to make a bold move this offseason. He has to take a risk. Werenski is from Grosse Pointe, Michigan. Many people were critical of Yzerman not trading for defenseman Quinn Hughes last season. He was traded to the Minnesota Wild from the Vancouver Canucks instead.
Larkin and Werenski were teammates for Team U.S.A. at the Olympics. Trading for Werenski would no doubt help the Red Wings issues on the backend. Maybe Detroit can acquire another player in the process as well with Columbus. They don’t have a first-round pick to trade this year, but the Red Wings have missed the playoffs or the last 10 seasons. Not having a first-round pick this year might hurt the Red Wings chances of trading with the Blue Jackets. Detroit needs to make a bold move, and this could be the right move to make.
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks did not make the playoffs last season, but this is a franchise that is knocking on the door. San Jose has a young stud in Macklin Celebrini. They also have Michael Misa on the roster. The Sharks have the second and the 27th overall picks in the first-round of the 2026 NHL Draft. Would San Jose trade one or both of those picks to Columbus for Werenski? The Sharks also have a lot of cap space to work with.
This is a team that could be a serious contender as soon as next season if they did trade for him. San Jose may prefer to stay patient, but they should see if trading for Werenski would be worth it or not.
