Will Zach Werenski Be Reconsidering His Commitment To The Blue Jackets?

Last place in the Eastern Conference, the Columbus Blue Jackets are off to a rough start, and the questions about Zach Werenski’s future could be getting louder. Columbus is in the midst of a four-game losing streak, and for a franchise that hasn't made the playoffs in five straight seasons, it now faces the possibility of a sixth.

The offense has been a major concern. Kirill Marchenko’s departure aside, young forwards Dmitri Voronkov and Cole Sillinger have been quiet. Matthew Knies hasn’t panned out as the Blue Jackets would have liked. Cam Talbot has kept the Blue Jackets in games while their future goaltending star, Jet Greaves, has struggled. 

Some fans have described the situation as a franchise low, pointing to aging, expensive veterans with move protection, a thin prospect pool, and young players who have not progressed as hoped.

Werenski, the reigning Norris Trophy winner, is trying to stay positive, but questions about his long-term future continue to come up. He has insisted the team’s best is still ahead, but how long can this go on before his two years look more like a jail sentence than the start of something positive?

“I feel like we have good enough players in here that eventually we’re going to score pretty consistently,” he said. Still, the goals aren’t coming. They sit last in the league in goals for with just 43. That’s under 2.39 goals per game. 

Werenski has 15 points through the first quarter of the season, well behind Evan Bouchard’s 34 and Quinn Hughes’ 30, and his production has not looked like that of the player he was last season.

Is that a team thing? Is he struggling with the mix of players the Blue Jackets have? Is Werenski feeling defeated and ready to move on?

His future is part of the conversation in Columbus, especially after all of the trade talk that popped up in the off-season. There was a trade to the Dallas Stars on the table, but Werenski backed away.

The Blue Jackets and Werenski made a statement and squashed any trade talk. At least, for the moment. 

It’s only a matter of time before Werenski starts to look at what’s going on in Columbus and wonder if he made the right choice by staying loyal. The way things are trending, he’s not going to win there anytime soon. 

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