Jeff Marek talks Blue Jackets, Zach Werenski and Johnny Gaudreau.

Daily Faceoff’s Jeff Marek joins Bob McElligott for a wide-ranging conversation about the Columbus Blue Jackets, including whether the Zach Werenski trade to Dallas is really dead.

Marek doesn’t think Dallas’s interest has gone anywhere. He calls the deal “just on pause” and breaks down what a package built around Thomas Harley could look like for Columbus. He also looks back at a rough summer in Columbus: the Werenski saga, Kirill Marchenko’s exit and the trade that brought Matthew Knies and a second-round pick to the Blue Jackets.

Plus: Doug MacLean stories from their Sportsnet days, why Columbus is Marek’s “team number two,” what Johnny Gaudreau choosing Columbus meant, why rebuilding teams still need the right veterans, and how Adam Fantilli is learning to play a smarter, more pro game.