Zach Werenski
Yeah, this is going to cost everything. We mean everything. Ty Smith, a 1st-round pick, and Jesper Boqvist. They might even ask the Devils to add Nikita Gusev for good measure. It’s still worth considering short of Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier. The Columbus Blue Jackets took Zach Werenski two picks after the New Jersey Devils took Pavel Zacha in 2015. We don’t need to rehash the pick, but maybe the Devils could spend the bank to mend the mistake.
Werenski is a monster defenseman on the left side. He’s one of the more underrated players in the NHL. This isn’t someone who’s underrated in Columbus. He’s loved there. For good reason. He’s one of the rare defensemen who can shut down opposing superstars while also adding his name to the scoreboard on the other side.
Again, this isn’t to say that Werenski is “available”, because there is no evidence to say that he is. This is just to say the Devils should throw out a Godfather offer to the Blue Jackets and see what they say. Werenski is just 23 years old, he has a chance to get even better, and the Devils are looking at him from a position of need. Losing multiple of your top prospects, a 1st-round pick, and a really good winger would hurt, but it would fix a lot of what’s wrong with the defense in an instant.
Playing Werenski with P.K. Subban might help the Devils $9 million man as well. Subban was not good this season, but it’s telling his best minutes were played with Mirco Mueller. The experiment of playing Damon Severson and Sami Vatanen on their off hand turned out terribly. Bring in Werenski to dominate as the number-one guy, and give Columbus the world. This still feels like it would be a no, but that collection of talent would at least get Columbus thinking.