Werenski takes a shot at Garnet Hathaway
Zach Werenski skated today at practice and was a full participant, that's great news for the Columbus Blue Jackets. He'll probably only end up missing two or three games due to the knee to the thigh he took on opening night. He says he's hoping to play Friday.
Also today, Werenski took to the airwaves in Columbus, appearing on 97.1 The Fan's Rothman & Ice, and addressed the hit.
Zach called the hit "unfortunate" and said he knew right away it wasn't his knee, and knew it wouldn't be long-term. He was in a lot of pain Werenski says.
He goes on to say it "was obviously a dirty play" and avoidable on his (Hathaway) end. When asked by Anthony Rothman to clarify his statement about being a dirty hit, Werenski responded "I thought it was very dirty." Werenski backs that up by saying that with it being Hathaway and with his history, he "knows what he's doing." Zach says all Hathaway was doing was trying to send a message to him (Werenski) the CBJ, and Hathaway's team that that's how he was going to play. To close it out, Werenski said "It was not an accident by any means."
Hathaway was originally given a 5-minute major, but upon "review", the call was changed to a 2-minute minor. The next day, Hathaway was fined $5000, the max allowed by the CBA.
You can listen to the full interview below.
Is this story over? The CBJ travel to Philadelphia to take on the Flyers on January 4th. Stay tuned.
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