One can speculate that Zach Werenski will be exactly Nathan MacKinnon away from winning the Norris Trophy. Cale Makar will likely end up with the honors, the result of being on a team with a superstar and a better power play. No disrespect to Makar, but what Werenski did on a worse team in even worse circumstances not only puts him in the argument for best defenseman, but also most valuable player. Any team could lose any player to injury at any time, and the Columbus Blue Jackets would have been more affected by the loss of Werenski than any other player-team combination in the league.
2024-25 Stats
Goals: 23
Assists: 59
Points: 82
Plus/Minus: +12
PIM: 31
5v5 Corsi %: 52.48%
5v5 Fenwick %: 53.14%
5v5 O-Zone Start %: 54.48%
Contract
Z is signed through the 2027-28 season at an AAV of $9.58 million. It feels like 2028 is far away, but it’ll be here before you know it.
High Point
There are so many to choose from. Two stand out for me. First, his two-goal, five-point game against the Lightning in November, in which he scored the overtime, game-winning goal. Second, he recorded seven total assists in back-to-back games in late December.
Low Point
He went six straight games in March without a point, and the Jackets only managed three points in those six games.
Report Card
A
Why not an A+? It feels wrong to give a perfect grade when the team missed the playoffs so narrowly. I bet Zach would agree. Also, the power play still struggled for long stretches. Werenski will likely miss winning the Norris Trophy. The difference? The power play. Makar managed 10 more power play points, the exact gap in point total between the two defensemen.
None of that should take away from the incredible season Werenski had. I would argue that Werenski’s season trails only Bobrovsky’s Vezina seasons in top season performances by a Blue Jacket.