Glenn Kaplan
The Columbus Blue Jackets will have many decisions to make this offseason. Columbus just missed the playoffs last season. Head coach Rick Bowness was brought back to the team after he took over during the middle of the season. The Blue Jackets need to decide if they are going to trade defenseman Zach Werenski or not. Werenski will have two years remaining on his contract.
He is currently in the prime of his NHL career. Werenski is 28 years old and he just won the Norris Trophy. During the 2025-2026 NHL season, he played in 75 games and scored 22 goals and recorded 59 assists, along with a plus/minus rating of +7. If the Blue Jackets were to trade him, they could potentially get a big return for him. The Ottawa Senators traded away Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers for three first-round picks and a second-round pick. This trade could potentially start a bunch of chaos this off-season.
Zach Werenski has not requested a Trade
Pierre LeBrun of the Athletic wrote about what is potentially next across the NHL landscape after Tkachuk was traded from Ottawa to Florida. He mentioned that Werenski’s name could potentially be on the trade block. LeBrun said, “Dylan Larkin awaits a resolution after asking for a trade away from the Detroit Red Wings. We’ll see what happens over time with Norris Trophy winner Zach Werenski and the Columbus Blue Jackets. To be clear, he has not asked for a trade, but teams around the league believe that’s coming over the next 12 months.”
Is it possible that Columbus and Detroit would do a Larkin for Werenski swap? Werenski is from Grosse Pointe, Michigan. Detroit could be one of the teams that would trade for him. However, Werenski may want to be traded to a true contender. Detroit has missed the playoffs for the last 10 seasons.
Other inside information revealed about Werenski
Pierre LeBrun of the Athletic on June 10 also had some interesting things to report about Werenski. He also said, “There’s been much speculation about Zach Werenski in the wake of Larkin’s trade request, perhaps because they’re close friends and fellow Team USA gold medalists. But I can tell you as of Wednesday afternoon, I’m told there has not been any communication to the Columbus Blue Jackets indicating that kind of thing on Werenski, who has two more years on his deal.
Now, having said that, I’m not ready to say that it couldn’t happen before the end of the summer, either, just based on the fact that at some point the team and player will want to talk about the future and whether or not he sees himself in Columbus long term. And I don’t know what the answer to that question would be.”
Werenski feels like he is probably not going to win a Stanley Cup in Columbus, Ohio. Even though he hasn’t requested a trade, it feels like there may be a trade coming this offseason that will involve him. There will be a lot of teams calling the Blue Jackets to see what the asking price for him will be. If Columbus does trade him, they better get a big haul in return. The rebuild would then start.
