Last season's Norris trophy winner has been linked to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the rumours might be heating up.
-
According to NHL insider Pierre LeBrun, the one Canadian team that the Team USA gold medalist would consider is the Toronto Maple Leafs.
On top of that, it has been rumoured that Zach Werenski and the Toronto Maple Leafs captain, Auston Matthews, are very close friends and have a really tight relationship.
One thing has been certain: whatever occurred in the Team USA locker room has led to a plethora of players moving around the league or requesting trades.
Players like Brady Tkachuk, Dylan Larkin, Connor Hellebuyck, and Quinn Hughes were mainstays on Team USA and have been on the move or involved in rumours over the last season and a half.
One thing is for certain: with the explosion of the salary cap, we are seeing players forcing their way to other teams, and this is not the last of the movement involving American players, and the Toronto Maple Leafs might be able to take advantage.
A new report says Toronto is the only Canadian team Werenski would approve a trade to
Recently, there has been a prominent narrative that American stars do not want to play in Canada, and while that has become true over the last calendar year, there are exceptions to every rule.
Toronto is the heart of hockey and is considered the biggest fanbase in the sport. With that said, it is a megacity and has the captain of Team USA as its current captain.
Auston Matthews and Zach Werenski have been longtime teammates; they both played together with the United States National Team Development Program, or USNTDP, for three years, played at the world juniors together for two years, never winning gold but only landing one Bronze medal together, and have been 4 Nations and Olympic teammates together.
They have spent a lot of time together and have a relationship, and that might work in the Maple Leafs' favour as a way to land Werenski.
On top of that, Toronto is an interesting spot, the team has quite a bit of star power, and the new general manager, John Chayka, has been really aggressive when it comes to retooling this roster, and at the moment, it looks as though they are going to try to be competitive next season.
This likely has paid dividends and is becoming an attractive location for players, star power, an improved roster, a new coach, and ambitions to be competitive next season are probably things that did not fall on deaf ears.
Werenski would make Toronto a true contender, and his pairing would likely be the recently acquired Darren Raddysh, and with a shot like that and Werenski's play-making ability, you could see some incredible point totals being put up.
Then fans noticed Werenski liked the Leafs' post of Gavin McKenna in a jersey
While Instagram likes probably do not mean as much as we would like to see, it is something notable and something that Werenski has to be aware of.
-
Whether or not someone like McKenna has that effect on players, like a Celebrini, McDavid, Matthews, etc. Remains to be seen, but McKenna is someone who everyone is aware of and is someone with a superstar-like brand behind him already.
If Werenski were to want to come to Toronto, Gavin McKenna has to be at least PART of the reason why he would want to be here long-term.
Columbus is likely headed towards a rebuild, and if the Maple Leafs can add a Norris-winning defenseman to their roster, that certainly shores up their biggest weakness they have had throughout Matthews tenure.
The Leafs don't have an empty farm system and have some picks available at their disposal, but it is hard to see that a trade from Toronto would not involve someone like Matthew Knies going the other way.
Where will Zach Werenski end up next season?
Also read on Hockey Patrol :
Beyond the first overall pick the Maple Leafs found some real gems