On Monday, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman spoke on his podcast, 32 Thoughts, going around the league with new reports and information, and his segment on the Dallas Stars drew plenty of attention, particularly the additional context he provided on the vetoed Zach Werenski trade. 

Friedman explained that the deal that had been agreed to verbally would have sent standout defenseman Thomas Harley to Columbus as the centerpiece of the return for Werenski, with other players or picks potentially attached on the back end.

Friedman noted he hadn't been able to speak directly with anyone immediately involved in the situation, but said it appeared to be something of a case of broken telephone. He explained that some people interpreted things as Werenski being fully on board with going to Dallas, while others told him the Blue Jackets were simply using the Stars' offer to see what kind of return they could drive before deciding what to do. 

According to Friedman, the framework of the trade was agreed to on principle as early as Monday, with the following days spent ironing out the finer details on money and structure, before the whole thing was ultimately shut down when Werenski exercised his full no-move clause to veto the deal.

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Friedman explained that Columbus genuinely couldn't find a better offer than the one Dallas had put on the table, and tried to push Werenski toward accepting it, essentially presenting him with a choice of accepting the trade to Dallas, or staying in Columbus, since the next closest suitors, believed to be the Toronto Maple Leafs or Tampa Bay Lightning, weren't able to field a comparable offer. 

Werenski ultimately preferred to be dealt to a team in the Eastern Conference, a preference that effectively ruled Dallas out the moment he chose to use his no-move clause.

The trade ultimately never happened, but based on everything that unfolded, it's clear that had a deal for Werenski gotten done at all in the immediate term, Dallas was the team that came closest to landing the reigning James Norris trophy winner.

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