Things escalated quickly for Zach Werenski and the Columbus Blue Jackets. From the agreed upon trade to the Dallas Stars to the change of heart
Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast – 32 Final Thoughts episode on how the Zach Werenski, Columbus Blue Jackets situation played out with the Dallas Stars and how they managed to turn things around.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Friedman: “So, and I think one of the teams that was indicated was that he would consider would be Dallas. Now, again, I haven’t spoken to anybody involved here.
So what I think is this; is that, that Dallas thing turned into, some people interpreted it as he will definitely go to Dallas. If Columbus makes a trade to Dallas, he will go there. And other people either meant it or interpreted it as, if Dallas it becomes available, bring it to us and we’ll make a decision then.
But it was like broken telephone, Kyle. It didn’t, whatever was meant, it wasn’t uni, it wasn’t agreed on unanimously by Werenski, the team, and the Stars.
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So they make a trade with the Stars, which was (Thomas) Harley, and I believe (Mavrik) Bourque, okay.
And the other thing that, so I think they agreed to it on the Monday, and it couldn’t happen until the Wednesday, because I think there were, there was bonuses involved, and they were figuring it out, who was going to pay what. I think they’d agreed on the trade, but they were just working through how. it was going to happen, they were just working through it.
And then there was also an article, and it’s now appeared everywhere. But the first place I saw it was by Aaron Portzline, where Rick Bowness was quoted as saying, ‘I’m surprised at all this, like. I, we looked each other in the eyes, and we thought it was going to be all okay.’ And just the timing of that happening, and then it appeared. Like it was, I thought initially was an exclusive where Bownes said that Portzline, but it turned out it was in a scrum, and a bunch of other outlets, including NHL.com had that article as well.
I think that article hitting as the, as everyone started to figure out what was happening, it just made the whole situation. It was like the volcano blowing right. And I think people got upset, and it just added another layer to this that made the timing all bad.
But whatever the case is, they took it to Werenski, he said ‘No,’ and the deal died. And I think Columbus basically said it’s Dallas or we’re keeping you. Because the trade, like Toronto, couldn’t do that, and neither could Tampa.
So I think it was, I think Columbus said it’s Dallas or us, and then it got out and it really exploded.
And you know, it was interesting. I had a conversation with a player this week, and he, it was, he had a really interesting perspective. He said, you know, behind the scenes, whenever you ask for a trade, you feel that you’ve, or, or you’re indicated that it might be time for you, depending on what the future is.
You know, maybe you know, and maybe your team knows, and maybe your agent knows, and maybe your wife knows, or whoever else you confide in, but a lot of people don’t know. And then he said to me, like, once the articles and the tweets start coming out, it’s like, oh my god. Like, you may think, if you’ve never been through it before, you may think you’re ready for it to hit the social media whirlwind, but you’re not. If you’ve never been through it before, you don’t know what that’s like now.
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Now, Don Waddell has been around for 1000 years, Jim Nill has been around for 5000 years, so these guys have seen everything. But Werenski is new. He’s a younger guy, he’s never been through anything like this, and they think it really rocked him. Like, it’s like, I don’t think Werenski is like a bad person at all. He wants to win, and I think he was probably a little stunned, a little overwhelmed, and you know, a little bit, probably embarrassed about the way it all played out.
So, they did what adults are supposed to do. They had a call. I don’t think it was in person, they had a call or a Zoom or whatever, and they sorted it out. And I think they smooth it out with, I think Werenski probably smoothed it out with Dallas too, but you know, they sort it out. And I expect that he’ll start next year in Columbus.
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