Earlier this summer, the Maple Leafs emerged as one of the frontrunners to land reigning Norris Trophy winner Zach Werenski. The news seemed too good to be true. But as the rumors dug deeper, the reality seemed more plausible.
Since then, nothing materialized as the Columbus Blue Jackets and Werenski appeared to have made up. But instead of their public peace talks being a definitive end to hostilities, the truce seemed more like a temporary ceasefire.
Werenski isn’t on the block now. But it might not be long until he returns.
According to Blue Jackets insider Aaron Portzline, the clock is ticking on the Blue Jackets and Werenski. That ticking clock leads to a clear timeline for the Maple Leafs to eventually have another shot at landing Werenski.
“I think he will be a Blue Jacket well into the season; the next question mark pops up if the Blue Jackets are out of the playoff race; if they're as competitive as they want to be, I think he goes into next summer.”
The comments point to two specific timelines. The first is when the Blue Jackets think they’re definitely out of the playoff race. That could happen as soon as American Thanksgiving. If Columbus finds itself clearly out of a postseason spot by late November or early December, you can bet the chatter will pick up.
At that point, the timeline could focus on getting a deal done before the holiday trade freeze. Such a trade would follow a similar path as the Quinn Hughes trade did last season.
The second timeline would be the trade deadline. Since there is no international tournament slated to shut down the season in February, the talk should ramp up even more ahead of the March 1, 2027 NHL trade deadline.
March 1 will be a key date for Maple Leafs’ fans to circle on their calendars. It could be the date in which the Leafs could be looking to pull off a stunner to propel them into the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Of course, that all depends on the Maple Leafs actually being in the thick of the Eastern Conference postseason race.
Maple Leafs likely to keep dry powder just in case
The hardest part for John Chayka will be to keep his powder dry. Chayka will want to hold his breath for when Werenski might become available.
But there’s no guarantee that Werenski will even hit the block, particularly if the Blue Jackets actually have a good season.
As such, Chayka may have to decide between pulling the trigger on a deal like Erik Karlsson, especially if that comes at the expense of landing Werenski, or hoping the current lineup can buy him enough time to wait for Werenski.
There might also be other potential pieces out there, like Dylan Larkin, as implausible as that might seem, or even Connor McDavid. Yes, McDavid might seem like a fantasy right now, but there’s no telling if the Oilers will completely fall apart this upcoming season.
Regardless, patience will be crucial for Chayka. The Maple Leafs GM can’t afford to splurge on Karlsson, for instance, and find that Werenski becomes available two months later. The Leafs don’t have enough capital to pull off two massive deals.
That’s why the best path, as Portzline noted, might be to wait till next summer. If the Blue Jackets somehow still have Werenski on the books next summer, the situation might be ideal for a trade.
In the meantime, it will be interesting to see how the first two months of the 2026-27 season will play out.
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