Paul Bissonnette believes Zach Werenski’s stay in Columbus could be nearing an end if the Blue Jackets can’t get moving in the right direction.
On the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast, Bissonnette floated Toronto, Utah and Dallas as possible landing spots for the Columbus defenseman. He was blunt about where he thinks this could be headed.
"I think Werenski's gone,” Bissonnette said.
He expanded on that idea by pointing to Toronto and Utah, while also noting a Dallas path that apparently already came up once before.
“And I think he's gonna be a Toronto Maple… I think he ends up in Utah this year. Ooh.
I could see him going at the deadline right now. Unless he had no desire whatsoever to play in Dallas and live in Texas”
Werenski is under contract for two more seasons on the six-year, $57.5 million deal he signed on July 29, 2021. The agreement carries a $9.583 million cap hit through 2027-28, and his full no-trade clause runs until July 1, 2027, when it shifts to a 10-team no-trade list.
His future has already been a summer storyline. Reports in June linked him to the possibility of a trade, though Werenski has said he wants to stay in Columbus. At the same time, the Blue Jackets know the clock is ticking if they want to keep him beyond this contract.
“I think everyone knows how much I love this city and how much it means to me and I would have no issues being here for an even longer time,” Werenski said.
Werenski has also made clear what he wants to see from the franchise: playoff hockey again. Columbus has gone six straight seasons without a postseason berth, and in August he said the team had taken steps forward but still had more to prove.
“I want to see us in the playoffs, and I want to see us make progress and I feel like we've done that,” Werenski said in a statement in August. “I think winning solves everything and that's where we have to get to as a club. We have to raise our standards and expectations and that starts with myself.”
The trade chatter picked up in June when reports suggested Werenski was frustrated by Columbus’ repeated playoff misses and unwilling to commit to another long-term deal. General manager Don Waddell reportedly had a trade partner lined up in Dallas on June 30, but Werenski stopped the move. The next day, Werenski and the Blue Jackets said again that he wanted to stay with the team.
In Other News...
Blue Jackets Face An Early Trade Decision That Could Shift The Lineup
With the Blue Jackets still sorting out how aggressively they want to push this season, Dmitri Voronkov has emerged as one of the more interesting names in their early trade conversations. Columbus is reportedly open to moving the forward, who has been a productive piece during his time with the club and remains the kind of player other teams would likely view as a useful addition.
Voronkov is in the final year of his contract, which gives the Blue Jackets a built-in decision point as they weigh short-term gains against the value of keeping him in the lineup. There is no deal on the verge of happening, but the fact that Columbus is even exploring whether he could be part of a trade package suggests the front office is at least considering a move that would bring immediate help back the other way. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Still Havent Been Tested The Way Fans Wanted
The Blue Jackets are only seven games into the season, but the bigger issue has been the lineup churn around them. At 3-4-0, Columbus has had to navigate the early schedule without two important defensemen, which has blurred the picture of what this group really looks like when it is whole. The absence of Ivan Provorov has been especially noticeable, pushing more responsibility onto others and forcing Zach Werenski and the rest of the blue line to soak up heavier minutes.
Dante Fabbros injury has added another layer to that uncertainty, leaving the Jackets without a steady defensive mix long enough to get a fair read on their start. Until the roster settles down and the back end can play together for more than a brief stretch, the early results will remain hard to judge. For a team trying to establish itself, the real test still feels like it is waiting off in the near future. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Back In A Trade Talk Tied To Marchenko Void
The Penguins are again at a point where veteran forwards could be on the move as they try to carve out more room for younger players, and Rickard Rakell is right back in the conversation. He was already part of trade discussions with Columbus before, and with no deal getting across the finish line then, the Blue Jackets have a familiar name to keep in mind if Pittsburgh keeps reworking its roster.
Rakells sluggish start has only added another layer to the uncertainty around his market, while his contract protections give him some say in where this goes next. For Columbus, the connection is less about a finished transaction than the possibility that a player once linked to the club could re-enter the trade picture if the Penguins decide to keep pushing for change. [Read more 🡒]