Could the Toronto Maple Leafs acquire Zach Werenski without giving up Matthew Knies?
@Nylanderthews: Darren Dreger said on TSNs First Up this morning that the Toronto Maple Leafs offer to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Zach Werenski didn’t include Matthew Knies.
Dreger mentions Easton Cowan and Ben Danford.
Sportsnet 590 The FAN: Matt Marchese and Mike Futa on if the Toronto Maple Leafs could acquire Zach Werenski from the Columbus Blue Jackets without giving up Matthew Knies.
Futa: “Can you fathom a package with the Columbus Blue Jackets …”
Marchese: “No.
Futa: “… that doesn’t include Matthew Knies?
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Marchese: “No. No.
Futa: “Unless you’re going for, but then you’re not. You’re, okay, If we go over it, there’s none of those defenseman, they all have anchors (no-trade, no-movement clauses) beside them, right?
So, if you want, even if you, I know you’re not getting, but you’re still want to win. So, hypothetically, OEL or McCabe, they all have protection.
Marchese: “Correct.
Futa: “So, they’re not going anywhere unless they get ticked off and say, ‘Okay, you want me to leaveing.’ But I don’t perceive that to be the case.
So, then you’ve got, you’ve got to get into your mix, where you start to talk about the (Ben) Danford’s and the Easton Cowan‘s of the world, right? But, and I’m sorry, but if I’m getting Werenski, I’m not worried one bit about the upside of Easton Cowan long-term.
If you can keep Knies, and I really, this Easton Cowan has grown on me big time.
Marchese: “Yeah.
Futa: “We’re.. I don’t think people understand, what a, like when you have a legitimate, and if you’re coming, you obviously come with the thoughts that you’re, you want to extend, and you’re all in. You don’t get defensemen like this in their prime.
You win a lottery. This to me would be, if they were to acquire someone like Werenski, without having to part with a Matthew Knies. They’ve won the lottery twice.
Marchese: “Yeah, no brainer, absolutely no brainer. But that’s where I wonder with Columbus if they’re just like, we’re just not doing that. He doesn’t have to.
Futa: “And Donnie Waddell, I’ll tell you, he’s just, he’s a veteran, he’s not going to get walked on here. But it sounds like now, like when you start to hear these reports that, like, when, and it’s from Elliotte’s, you know, it’s got something to it.
Can the Edmonton Oilers get Darnell Nurse to expand his list?
When they said that the camp is so pissed off that everybody’s looking at Werenski now, like he’s a villain. It’s like, okay, this got to this, and now you know you’re meeting with me at, well, we’re done here. We’re done here. And we can obviously, he’s going to go back and play, and he’s going to play his, this guy’s got no.. he’s a guy that’s going to go back and play great hockey if he’s just got to go back.
But how do you not look at moving on from this?
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