NHL Rumours: Brady Tkachuk Bombshell, No Doughty Extension & Werenski to Maple Leafs?

In today’s NHL rumour rundown, we start with Brady Tkachuk and the rumour going around about how he quit on his team long before the trade request. Next, we look at the Los Angeles Kings, who will not be signing defenseman Drew Doughty to an extension this offseason.

Finally, the Zach Werenski talks are getting to be more and more each day, and one of the latest reports includes him being willing to waive his no-move clause for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Tkachuk Reportedly Quit on Senators 4 Years Ago

There has been a lot of bad blood between Tkachuk and the fans of the Ottawa Senators. Many feel that he quit on the team, didn’t put in the effort they deserved in his final season, and did wrong by telling everyone the rumours were a farce.

Any time a star player leaves, especially in this fashion, people get upset about it. In the case of the Tkachuk situation, many X users have noted that the only current Senators player to acknowledge the trade on social media was Jake Sanderson.

With that, along with the report from TVA’s Renaud Lavioe stating, “[I am] told by multiple sources the dressing room was not pushing for Brady to stay,” questions about his presence in the locker room have been raised.

Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch did a segment, labeled as Sens 1-on-1, and stated, “For the last four years, he had told his teammates in that dressing room that he has no intention of signing an extension here”

For a team to hear that from their captain, who was supposed to be the heartbeat of the team, that can be quite deflating.

The final year Tkachuk played with the Senators was particularly poor. While the team made the playoffs, Tkachuk was quite clearly not playing to the level anybody expects him to be at. Many pointed to his thumb injury, but Steve Staios stated it was far beyond that.

Kings Not Extending Drew Doughty, Will Wait Until Next Offseason

The Kings’ general manager, Ken Holland, announced that the club will not be holding extension talks with Doughty this offseason, and any conversations about his future will be held until next offseason.

Doughty is a two-time Stanley Cup winner, three-time Olympian, and has been a critical piece for the Kings’ success over the last 18 seasons.

Holland stated that both the Kings organization and Doughty want him to retire as a King, and that will likely be the case, but as he gets older and starts slowing down, his contract and role will have to be discussed, and his play through 2026-27 is going to dictate a lot of that.

Werenski Willing to Waive No-Move Clause for Maple Leafs

While all of the Werenski rumours picked up just before the draft, the Blue Jackets didn’t take any action on that. Whether they were fielding last-minute calls looking for a home run, or they have another plan, he is still with the Blue Jackets.

The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline and Shayna Goldman collaborated on a piece looking at eight possible destinations for Werenski. They stated that the Philadelphia Flyers, Dallas Stars, Carolina Hurricanes, San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Anaheim Ducks, and Detroit Red Wings would be interested. (from ‘Eight possible destinations if the Blue Jackets decide to trade Zach Werenski’, The Athletic, June 28, 2026)

Pierre LeBrun added that the Tampa Bay Lightning would take a big swing for him, too.

LeBrun had a story of his own, where he stated that the Maple Leafs would be the only Canadian team that Werenski would be willing to waive for, which is quite notable. (from ‘Zach Werenski trade rumblings: 3 options for the Blue Jackets, early suitors and what’s next’, The Athletic, June 27, 2026)

Right now, we are seeing a ton of American players look to join what could be labeled as superteams. American stars are looking at the Vegas Golden Knights, Florida Panthers, and Minnesota Wild as the places they want to play.

With Werenski, and Connor Hellebuyck for another baseline, they seem to be in the mindset of winning. After getting a taste of victory at the Olympics, these players want to win and don’t feel like that is going to happen in their current situation.