Zach Werenski was the representative for the Columbus Blue Jackets at the annual NHL Media tour being held in Vegas.
Below are some quotes he gave to The Hockey News and other media.
On Player Empowerment and Being In The Middle Of It:
"I think it’s different for everyone. I don’t want to speak on specific situations just because I don’t know all the facts and details, and I feel like everyone’s situation is different. I do think it’s definitely more vocal than it’s been in years past. I think everyone would probably agree with that. I just know personally, for me, where I was at, where I’m at now. I’m just happy with how everything worked out for me and that I’m still in Columbus."
He was asked to walk through the weird week that was the nixed trade to Dallas:
"Yeah it was wild. I had great conversations with Don. Since the day the season ended, we spoke consistently, came up to Michigan a few times, grabbed breakfast with him talked on the phone a lot. The conversations were really positive and good and it started to snowball there. I didn’t talk to him for about a week with the draft and free agency coming up. It started snowballing, got off the rails and I just wanted to get things back on track and talked to him the morning — the first maybe — and we were both in agreement, like, let’s get this back on track and just put an end to all this. Really happy with how it all worked out because Columbus is where I want to be. Just a crazy, crazy week there."
On if it got blown out of proportion:
"Yeah, that’s how it felt for me. Obviously, I had a lot of good conversations with Don, good conversations with my agent; I know they’ve spoken. I know, to an extent, what they talk about. But for me, from my point of view, this is not at all what I was expecting or how my conversations with Don went. So I just called him and said, "This is kind of crazy." I don’t know where this is going, but I’m gonna tell you right now, I’m playing in Columbus next year. He was in agreement; he was happy. That’s what he wanted. We put those statements out. Saw him a few times last week in Columbus, saw him yesterday before I came here, and we have a great relationship, and I have full trust in him that he’s going to make our team better and get us to where we want to go. Just happy with how it all worked out."
On if it's hard to be patient with a struggling team:
"It’s a really good question. It’s tough; it’s extremely tough. You see your friends having success, and guys winning Cups, and you’re so happy for them, but you want that to be you, and you put so much work in and so many hours and time into all this, and you want to be in those games and have a chance at it. There’s a lot of great players that will never win a Stanley Cup, but you want a crack at it. You want a chance to play for it. I want to do that in Columbus. I know how great the city is in when we’re in the playoffs; I’ve seen it in my first few years. I know I want to do it there. At the end of the day, you want to win. For me, the velief is high that we can do it in Columbus, and I feel like we’re on the up-and-coming. In the last two years, we’ve just missed the playoffs. We have a lot of good young pieces. I have full trust in Don, and he’s going to make our team better along the way and get us to where we want to go.
"I look at Carolina as a great example. That core of guys spent however many years together and they finally got over the hump and won it. That’s gotta feel really good. It’s got to feel good winning it in whatever capacity, but you put all that time in with one organization, and you get the job done. That’s what I want to accomplish in Columbus; I want to do something like that. Hopefully I’m there for a long time. I don’t know what the next two years are going to bring; I have two years left in my deal. But ideally, we’re a playoff team, and I’m in Columbus for a long time."
These are some great quotes by Werenski.
How do you feel about what he said above, and how it'll shake out?
