With the 8th pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, the Columbus Blue Jackets select: Zach Werenski.
It's hard to believe it's been almost 10 years since the CBJ drafted Werenski, the player that would become arguably not only the best defenseman in club history, but possibly the greatest player in club history.
So far, 2025 has been an excellent year for Werenski. He was the Four Nations' top defenseman, led his team with 82 points, won gold at the World Championships, and was the Norris Trophy runner-up. He has to be happy, right? Not so fast, my friend!
Werenski has said publicly to the media and in radio interviews that he's ready to win. A couple of days ago, he told The Athletic, "I love winning and I want more of it."
Back in February of this year, he appeared on the What Chaos! Podcast and had this to say,
"I haven't made the playoffs in a number of years now, so it's definitely on my mind as well. It's one of those things where I feel like I'm ready to make the playoffs and be an impact player in it. I don't want to wait too much longer. Obviously, I want to make it this season, and we're going to push for it, but I don't have too many years left to wait. So, that's kind of where my mindset is. I need to play in the playoffs, especially after tasting the 4-Nations and seeing the excitement there. I'm all in on making the playoffs. So, I'd obviously like to see what Don has to do about that."-
Over the last couple of seasons, he's watched as Seth Jones, Sergei Bobrovsky, and David Savard have gone on to win Stanley Cups, and that motivates him to get to that point.
Werenski did all he could last season to help the Jackets make the playoffs, but they came up just short. Now it falls on Don Waddell to build a team around Zach to get the Blue Jackets to the playoffs for a deep run.
With the draft under a week away and the start of free agency a little over a week away, the Columbus Blue Jackets are in a position to improve their team like they've never had before. They have the money, the assets, and the motivation to start building the championship roster that they need to compete.
If there's one or two players that they owe this to, it's Boone Jenner and Zach Werenski. Both have spent their entire careers with Columbus. Both have embraced the city of Columbus and made it their home. Both have chosen to sign long-term with the Jackets despite everything that went on since the end of the 2019 season.
But no player deserves a chance to win more than Zach Werenski. As noted above, he's not only the best defenseman to wear a CBJ jersey, but in the next couple of years, could be considered the best player to ever play for Columbus. He's only 163 points behind Rick Nash for most points in a career by a Jacket, so he could realistically pass Nash after the '27 season, and would cement himself as the best Blue Jacket ever.
Werenski has three years left on the deal he signed back in 2021, so in theory, Waddell has a couple seasons to turn this team into a perennial contender in not only the Metro, but the league, and hopefully re-sign Werenski to a deal that will see him retire as a Blue Jacket and not bounce around the league trying win a Cup.
GM Don Waddell has $40 million to spend and plenty of draft picks to use to help this process along. Now, while I'm sure he isn't thinking too much about making one or two players happy, he has to know that keeping your franchise player happy and surrounding him with talent is a good thing.
Werenski vouched for Dante Fabbro publicly and said he'd love to play with him going forward, so make it happen. Zach says he's ready to make the playoffs and win now, make it happen. He deserves this chance.
But not only do Zach Werenski and Boone Jenner deserve the chance to finally play for a championship, but the die-hard fans and people who follow the team deserve a chance as well. Fans in Columbus have begged and begged for this franchise to make a significant move and finally make a run for the Cup. This free agency season is the time to do just that.
In 2019, they upset super heavyweight Tampa Bay and then got beaten by Boston in the second round. I firmly believe, as many others do, that if the Jackets get by Boston in that series, they go on to beat the Carolina Hurricanes and play the St. Louis Blues for the Stanley Cup.
Oh what could've been!
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