Maple Leafs reportedly renew trade interest in Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski

Late Sunday night, word surfaced that the Toronto Maple Leafs have circled back to Columbus about Zachary Werenski.

Hockey 24/7 reported the renewed push and floated the idea of another blockbuster. Given how this start has gone, nobody in Toronto should be surprised.

The Leafs dropped a 4-1 decision to the Islanders on Saturday night, their third straight loss. They now sit dead last in their division.

Now look at the blue line. Through nine games, not a single Toronto defenseman has scored a goal.

Darren Raddysh carries an $8,500,000 cap hit, and his offensive output so far is four assists. That's a lot of money for a guy who hasn't found the net.

Morgan Rielly has gone minus-6. Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Jake McCabe haven't registered a point between them.

Then there's the guy Toronto wants. Werenski logged 28:43 of ice time last night in Minnesota and set up the lone Columbus goal in a 2-1 loss.

San Jose tonight, then a back-to-back showdown with the Blue Jackets

Toronto hosts San Jose tonight, then travels to Columbus for tomorrow night's puck drop.

Talk about awkward timing. The trade target will be lining up on the opposing blue line less than two days after the report hit.

And he's been quietly excellent. The Columbus defenseman has six assists this season to go with a +7 rating.

Four of those helpers came over his last five games. Nobody on Toronto's back end is trending anywhere close to that.

The money is the hard part. Werenski's $9,583,333 cap hit ranks sixth among NHL defensemen.

Toronto already pays Auston Matthews $13,250,000 and William Nylander $11,500,000. Something meaningful has to go back the other way.

Squeezing that contract onto this roster is like moving a sectional couch into a downtown condo. It fits eventually, but you're taking a door off its hinges first.

So what does Toronto actually send? Don Waddell runs a team ranked 27th overall, and he has no reason to take back dead weight.

Here's the part nobody in Toronto wants to hear. The bigger leak is in the crease, where Anthony Stolarz sits at an .875 save percentage.

Werenski would absolutely help. Paying a blockbuster price for half a solution, though, is a bad bet for a team with this many holes.

The forward group has its own problem. John Tavares is on IR with a lower-body injury and isn't expected back until at least November 27.

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Jim Hiller gets a long look at Werenski tomorrow night whether he wants one or not. If the Leafs lose again in Columbus, the phones in Toronto only get louder.

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