Saturday marks the start of February and the Columbus Blue Jackets are not only playing meaningful hockey.
They're thick within the Eastern Conference wild-card race. What could be better?
If you ask Zach Werenski, he only cares about helping his team win and doing whatever it takes to get the job done every night.
On a team full of daily contributors, Werenski has led in various ways, from the back end on the blue line to scoring goals and setting up his teammates for goals.
COACHES: Here's a great clip showing really good breakout principles.
— Topher Scott (@HockeyThinkTank) January 28, 2025
1. Zach Werenski starts the breakout and is the player that ends up scoring the goal on the rush. Get your D up the ice to be part of the offense!
2. Check out Kent Johnson on the wing and how many times he pic.twitter.com/ojIs4mFvR8
Always professional and diplomatic in his dealings with the media, Werenski seems likelier to want to talk about anything else but his 19-game home point streak, which is tied for the fifth most by a defenseman in NHL history.
Always a team-first mentality for Zach Werenski.#CBJ | @BlueJacketsNHL | @DMaetzMedia https://t.co/nYlmY6PQci pic.twitter.com/J0RdSqy0KS
— FanDuel Sports Network Columbus (@FanDuelSN_CBUS) January 17, 2025
But with a historic point streak or not, there's no denying that in a season in which the franchise has defied heavily stacked odds against them since day 1, no one is driving the bus quite like Werenski.
A potential Norris candidate and someone who could garner a vote or two for the Hart — the last defenseman to win the Hart for league MVP was Chris Pronger in 2000 — Werenski is personally dominating like no season prior.
It's fun to root for a guy like that who chose to stay in Columbus, his only NHL home when he re-signed for six seasons in July 2021 at $57.5 million through 2027-28.
Still only 27 years old, Werenski is entrenched as one of the primary pillars of the franchise, donning the 'A' as an alternate captain. He's one of the few players on the current roster to experience playoff hockey in Columbus, playing during the best stretch in Blue Jackets history under the John Davidson and Jarmo Kekalainen regime, led by head coach John Tortorella.
Following a Calder Cup championship with the then-Lake Erie — now Cleveland Monsters — in 2015-16, Werenski burst onto the scene during his first NHL season in 2016-17, scoring 47 points, a rookie franchise record (11 goals, 36 assists) in 78 games. He finished third in the Calder voting for top rookie and made the All-Rookie team.
Since the team's inception in 2000, Werenski is fourth with 356 points, trailing Boone Jenner by eight points for third overall, and is second all-time in Blue Jackets history with 250 assists, trailing Rick Nash by eight.
Among all Blue Jackets defensemen, he's third in games played (536), trailing Fedor Tyutin (553), and David Savard (597). Werenski is first in goals (106), assists, points, and a huge part of the power play, leading the way with 25 power-play goals and 111 power-play points in his career.
As a Blue Jacket, he's seen it all, from the historic sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2019 to the unprecedented COVID year and the playoff bubble a season later. Werenski has overcome injuries such as in 2022-23 when he was limited to 13 games after a separated shoulder and torn labrum.
He went through a career-long 38-game goalless drought last season while still setting a career-best 57 points, tying Seth Jones for the most points in franchise history for a defenseman, and setting the all-time mark for assists in a season by a d-man with 46 to go with his 11 goals.
Werenski currently leads the Jackets with 54 points, 38 assists, and is third with 16 goals.
Among all defensemen in the league, Werenski is third in points, trailing Cale Makar by two (56) and Quinn Hughes by four (58), second in goals, trailing Makar by two (18), and in a four-way tie for second in assists trailing Hughes by six (44). Werenski is tied for second with Makar in points per game (1.08), trailing Hughes (1.26).
- Head-to-head (5v5) comparison of Quinn Hughes, last year's Norris winner, and Werenski.
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Head-to-head (5v5) comparison of Cale Makar, the 2021-22 Norris winner, and Werenski.
Natural Stat Trick
With 32 games remaining, there's plenty of time for Werenski to keep pace and even pass those in front of him in the Norris race, perhaps even for the Hart. And track down the longest home point streaks in NHL history.
If you asked him about it, you can bet his answer only has to do with helping his team win games and fight for the playoffs.
