COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Zach Werenski decided in less than an hour to reject a trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets to the Dallas Stars.
It took a couple of days, however, for the star defenseman and his team to make sure they were on the same page moving forward.
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General manager Don Waddell and Werenski met Wednesday to clear the air and then both issued statements proclaiming all was well, with both sides focusing on the upcoming season.
Waddell said Thursday after the conclusion of Columbus’ rookie development camp that Werenski’s veto of a trade to Dallas was more about staying with the Blue Jackets than going to the Stars.
The Norris Trophy winner has two years remaining on his contract, including a full no-trade clause this year. That clause gets reduced to 10 teams on July 1, 2027.
“Him and his family have been talking about and thinking about it (being traded) and now you get put where you have to make a decision,” Waddell said. “I thought they might think about it overnight but I got the answer back. It had to be right around an hour that he wants to be a Blue Jacket.”
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Multiple reports emerged before last week’s NHL draft that Waddell was listening to offers, but things accelerated on Tuesday after Werenski rejected the Dallas deal.
Waddell said Thursday that he has met multiple times with Werenski since the season ended, and that communication between the two sides was good.
“There wasn’t miscommunication between me, him and his agent,” Waddell told reporters. “Nothing against media, but when (the media) gets involved sometimes, there’s a lot of speculation about what’s going on. It was never a situation that we’re on different pages by any means, as far as working against each other.”
Rick Nash, the Blue Jackets’ director of player development, and Werenski’s agent, Judd Moldaver, also attended Wednesday’s meeting.
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Werenski — the eighth overall pick by the Blue Jackets in the 2015 draft — won his first Norris Trophy this past season as the NHL’s best defenseman. His 81 points, which included 22 goals, were second at the position.
He tied the franchise record for assists (59) and joined Brian Leetch and Phil Housley as the only American-born defenseman in NHL history to post consecutive 80-point seasons.
Werenski’s goal is getting the Blue Jackets into the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2020. Columbus has come painfully short the past two years, including going 3-9-1 down the stretch this past season.
“We’re going to worry about this year and put the best team on the ice we can and get back in the playoffs,” Waddell said. “We’ll just see how this year goes. Zach made it real clear to me and was very passionate when we met that he wants to be a Blue Jacket.”
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With Boone Jenner signing with Washington, Waddell did say there was a possibility that Werenski could be named the Blue Jackets’ next captain, but that likely wouldn’t be decided until around training camp in September.
Werenski’s intentions to stay in Columbus also takes one notable name off what already has been a busy offseason of stars on the move that has included Brady Tkachuk and Sergei Bobrovsky. Detroit’s Dylan Larkin, who has the same agent as Werenski, also has made his trade demands known.
Forward Kirill Marchenko, the Blue Jackets’ leader in goals the past three seasons, also has two years remaining on his contract and has said he is unlikely to agree to an extension.
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