Zach Werenski had Pete DeBoer staring at a franchise-level gamble in Dallas.
Elliotte Friedman's read on the blocked deal is the part that hits hardest. If Werenski had not used his trade protection, Thomas Harley and Mavrik Bourque were believed to be in the Stars' package.
That is not a casual summer check-in. That is Dallas lining up a real hockey trade that would have ripped out a top young defenseman and one of its best forward assets in one shot.
And you can see why the Stars even looked at it. Dallas finished 50-20-12 with 112 points, so this is a team thinking about the last move that could change a playoff run, not a club chasing fixes from the middle of the standings.
Werenski also brings a profile that can tempt any contender. He put up 22 goals and 81 points in 75 games, which is rare production from the blue line no matter how high the price gets.
His cap hit adds another layer. Werenski carries a $9,583,333 number, so Dallas was not just weighing talent. It was weighing salary, term, and the kind of roster pain that comes with a true No. 1 swing.
" The price was MASSIVE ????????
Elliotte Friedman believes Thomas Harley AND Mavrik Bourque would've been part of the Stars' trade package for Zach Werenski if Werenski hadn't vetoed the deal. ???????? "
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The potential cost of acquiring Zach Werenski is turning heads
Harley alone tells the story. He is not some throw-in prospect. He just posted 16 goals and 66 points in 81 games, which made him one of the biggest young pieces on the Stars' roster.
Bourque is not filler either. He played 79 games and scored 25 goals with 43 points, giving Dallas another young piece that already looks useful at the NHL level.
Put those 2 names together and Friedman's point gets louder. Dallas was not trying to nibble around the edges for Werenski. It was ready to pay a price that would reshape the room.
That says a lot about how the Stars view their window under DeBoer. Jake Oettinger won 35 games, Jason Robertson scored 96 points, and Wyatt Johnston hit 45 goals, so this roster is already built to push deep.
For Columbus, it also explains why the conversation even existed. Dean Evason's club finished 40-30-12 with 92 points, and moving a defenseman like Werenski would only happen for a return that hurts the other side.
In the end, Werenski's veto stopped it. But the bigger takeaway is that Dallas was willing to discuss losing Harley and Bourque for one defender, and that tells you exactly how aggressively the Stars are hunting a Cup-level blue line.
Did the Stars offer too much for Zach Werenski?
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