Frustrations Mounting for Zach Werenski in Columbus, Something to Monitor?

Zach Werenski and the Columbus Blue Jackets are going through it right now. After a relatively solid start to the season, they’ve tailed off in a big way ever since, sinking to the basement of the Eastern Conference standings.

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Last year’s Norris Trophy runner-up is once again playing and producing at an elite level, but it hasn’t translated into wins for the Blue Jackets, especially of late, as they’ve lost six of their last seven.

Werenski did everything he could to keep Columbus in its most recent matchup with the Minnesota Wild, scoring both goals while logging a massive workload. Despite his brilliance, the end result was yet another loss, and his frustration boiled over postgame.

Werenski said:

“I feel like it’s the same thing we’ve been saying. We’re playing well enough to win, but it’s getting old that we keep losing. Enough is enough. It’s unacceptable, and I get the whole thing where you have to stay positive and move forward, but at the end of the day, this is getting outrageous.”

Werenski added:

“We’re all sick of (losing). At the end of the day, it’s on no one else but us to get ourselves out of it. It is a fine line, but we’re on the wrong side of it more often than not, and like I said, that’s unacceptable.”

The 28-year-old has racked up 38 points (13 goals, 25 assists) in 34 games played so far this season.

He is in year four of the six-year, $57.5 million extension he signed with the Blue Jackets back in 2021, eligible to become a UFA after the 2027-28 campaign.

Teams Should Be Monitoring Zach Werenski in Columbus

By no means has Werenski asked to be traded or even hinted at such an idea, but hearing that level of frustration from a player who appears poised to miss the playoffs for a sixth consecutive season is eye-opening.

Not to mention, he’ll turn 29 in July and become extension-eligible on July 1, 2027. Unless the Blue Jackets win the lottery and land a franchise-altering prospect, it’s difficult to envision them making much noise in the jam-packed Eastern Conference in the near future.

Because of that, it’s fair to wonder whether, at some point, Werenski may want to join a true contender while still at the peak of his powers. We just saw Quinn Hughes move a year and a half away from free agency, so if Columbus gauges Werenski’s long-term plans and senses any uncertainty, it might be in the organization’s best interest to explore what kind of haul he could command.

This is putting the cart before the horse, but losing takes a toll more than anything else in sports, and after a while, it can reach a breaking point. Now that were starting to see that with Werenski, this is at the very least a situation contending teams around the league should keep an eye on.

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