In a way, the Mike Babcock Saga is like Grey's Anatomy: it just keeps going and starts to expand to new places.
I thought I was going to earn a break from mentioning Babcock's name after the news settled on the Edmonton Oilers newest hire but hey, sometimes we don't get what we want, and if so, when we want.
This is especially pertinent when talking about Zach Werenski
For those of you who don't know who Zach Werenski is, he's the most recent Norris Trophy winner having accumulated 81 points (22 goals and 59 assists) in 75 games played this season. That comes after a 2024-25 campaign that saw Werenski record 82 points (23 goals and 59 assists) in 81 games.
But even with those two seasons in mind, the star defenseman is seemingly interested in seeing what opportunities await outside of Columbus.
An Oilers defense that had just two 40+ point scorers last season could use someone like Werenski, but there's one big problem with that.
You see, Werenski has been with the Blue Jackets ever since he was drafted by the team in 2015. He's been with the team through the John Tortorella years and he was also there for the short-but-controversial tenure that Babcock had in Columbus. Even if Werenski opens the door for additional Canadian teams to make a push to trade for him (he is open to considering a move to Toronto), it's reasonable to assume that any first-hand experience when it comes to Babcock will all but certainly mean that he will not waive his no-move clause to go to Edmonton.
I will note that there was a positive conversation between Babcock and Werenski in June 2023, though this was before claims of Babcock invading players' privacy came up.
Do the Oilers even have the assets to trade for Werenski?
Even if Werenski is willing to overlook the hiring of Babcock, there's still a lot that Edmonton would need to do to bring him in.
Let's use the Toronto Maple Leafs as the benchmark. The Toronto Sun recently speculated that any return would have to involve forward Matthew Knies, a first-round pick in 2027, and at least one of Easton Cowan, Nick Robertson, Ben Danford, and goaltender Dennis Hildeby.
While Stan Bowman would be foolish not to ask about trading for Werenski, he doesn't exactly have those kind of assets to send Columbus' way.
Darnell Nurse could be sent Edmonton's way in a trade; doing so would not only allow the Oilers to almost entirely offset Werenski's $9.5 million cap hit, but it would also help them to clear several major offseason questions in one fell swoop.
Unfortunately, it's not that easy for them to achieve that. It remains to be seen if Nurse will give Edmonton the go-ahead to move him to Columbus, and it's extremely unlikely that the Blue Jackets would say yes to moving Werenski for a defenseman with the exact same dollar value.
Even then, what else could Edmonton throw Columbus' way that is of value for the latter's playoffs-or-bust mentality?
In terms of young, high-impact players, Columbus could very well ask for one of Josh Samanski, Isaac Howard, and Matt Savoie. Even then, there's a very good chance anyone outside of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Evan Bouchard, and maybe Nurse is not truly untouchable.
From there, you'd have to assume that Columbus would want several early-round draft picks. Werenski was drafted eighth overall back in 2015, so a first-round pick would have to be part of the return. That said, the Oilers don't have a first-round pick in 2027, so they would have to send their 2028 first-round selection. The Oilers would probably also have to send their second-round pick in 2027 and at least one of their third-rounders in the 2028 draft.
Once that happens, the Oilers would only have one pick in the first three rounds of the next two drafts combined. That means that if things go south during the 2026-27 season and McDavid ends up leaving, the Oilers will only have one opportunity to potentially find a McDavid replacement in the draft.
I wouldn't get mad at the front office for trying to acquire Werenski, but there really isn't much ground to stand on when it comes to the Oilers trading for him.
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