The Zach Werenski trade saga continues.
TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston reports the star defenceman was presented with a trade offer away from the Columbus Blue Jackets, but was unwilling to waive his no-move clause to facilitate the deal.
TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger adds that the Dallas Stars are believed to be the team involved in the nixed deal, with Werenski preferring a team in the east.
On Tuesday’s edition of Insider Trading, Pierre LeBrun mentioned the Stars as a team with interest in the reigning Norris Trophy winner, speculating that Thomas Harley could be going the other way in a potential deal.
LeBrun also spoke about Werenski generating interest from the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Insider Trading, and once again mentioned the two teams as destinations that he believes the blueliner would waive his no-move clause for on Tuesday night.
Werenski, 28, registered 22 goals and 81 points in 75 games with the Blue Jackets last season while averaging 26:37 of ice time.
The 6-foot-2, left-shot blueliner is entering fifth season of a six-year, $57.5 million contract that carries an annual cap hit of $9.58 million. He is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2027-28 campaign.
He has a full-no move clause in his deal running until the end of next season, before it converts into a modified 10-team no-trade list for the 2027-28 campaign.
Drafted eighth overall by the Blue Jackets in 2015, Werenski has 135 goals and 465 points in 642 career games.
His best offensive season came during the 2024-25 campaign after he registered 23 goals and 82 points in 81 games with a plus-12 rating and averaging 26:45 of ice time.
The Grosse Pointe, Mich., native represented the United States at Milano Cortina 2026, helping his country to a gold-medal victory. He also represented his country at the 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025 in a second-place finish.
Werenski represented the United States three times at the World Hockey Championship, helping his nation win gold in 2025 to end a 92-year drought.
