The Detroit Red Wings will be an interesting team to watch as the offseason carries on. After extending their playoff drought to 10 years, they should be looking to make some changes to their roster as they hope for better results in 2026-27.
One area that the Red Wings could look to improve is the left side of their defense. It is clear that they could use another elite blueliner to play on their top pairing with Moritz Seider. Because of this, they are now being connected to one of the NHL’s best defensemen.
In a recent article for The Athletic, Shayna Goldman and Aaron Portzline named the Red Wings as a potential trade destination for Columbus Blue Jackets superstar defenseman Zach Werenski.
“The Red Wings have their franchise defenseman in Moritz Seider, whose all-around game put him right in the thick of the Norris conversation with Werenski. But another dynamic threat on the back end could be an absolute game-changer for a team that has ranked in the bottom half of the league in five-on-five scoring chance generation over the last couple of seasons,” they wrote.
The idea of the Red Wings pulling off a blockbuster trade for Werenski is certainly an interesting one. It could be exactly the move that helps the Red Wings finally take that next step and become a playoff team, as Werenski is one of the NHL’s best blueliners.
Werenski Would Give the Red Wings a Norris Trophy Winner Defenseman
If the Red Wings won the Werenski sweepstakes, there is no question that they would become a far more significant threat in the Eastern Conference. The 28-year-old defenseman has taken his game to a new level over the last two seasons and would give the Red Wings a dominant offensive defenseman to work with because of it.
During the 2024-25 season with the Blue Jackets, Werenski posted 23 goals, 59 assists, and 82 points in 81 games. He followed that up by recording 22 goals, 59 assists, and 81 points in 75 games this past season with Columbus. Due to his dominance in 2025-26, he won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman.
With this, Werenski would undoubtedly be a massive pickup for the Red Wings if they landed him. The idea of him on their top pairing with Seider would be a dream for Red Wings fans.
The Red Wings Have Some Major Obstacles to Overcome to Land Werenski
While the fit between the Red Wings and Werenski looks amazing on paper, Goldman and Portzline also brought up two significant obstacles that could make it hard for Detroit to land him. The pair noted that Larkin’s trade request and the Red Wings likely becoming worse if they move their captain could make Werenski not interested in waiving his no-movement clause to join Detroit.
“But without Larkin, this team’s timeline likely gets pushed back. And that’s two strikes against Werenski’s chances of waiving his no-movement clause to end up in Detroit,” they wrote.
Werenski has not played in the postseason since 2020, so he very likely wants to play for a contender. The Red Wings are not one right now, so that could make things very challenging for them to land the Blue Jackets superstar defenseman. However, with Detroit needing another superstar on their blueline badly, they should still make a run for him.
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