‘Columbus is where I want to be’: Zach Werenski committed to future with Blue Jackets

It was a tumultuous offseason for the 2025-26 Norris Trophy winner as the top defenseman in the NHL, as Columbus Blue Jackets superstar Zach Werenski, who was nearly traded earlier this summer.

As fellow American Olympic gold medalists Brady Tkachuk, Dylan Larkin and Connor Hellebuyck requested trades from their respective NHL teams this summer, rumors surfaced that Werenski, too, was not content with the state of his team and was open to exploring a new opportunity.

Now, multiple months removed, Werenski is ready to move forward and help his team get to work on snapping a Stanley Cup Playoff appearance drought that dates back to 2020.

“It was just crazy, and I think for me it just reassured that Columbus is where I want to be,” Werenski told Dan Rosen of NHL.com Tuesday at the NHL Player Media Tour in Las Vegas. “When all that stuff was swirling, I knew I wanted to be a Blue Jacket, I wanted to win here and I believe in our group.”

On June 30, Werenski reportedly nixed a trade that would have sent him to the Dallas Stars, a readymade contender looking to get over the hump and win a Cup.

“I feel like it just got off the rails a little bit, so I called Don [Waddell] one day and I was like, ‘We need to get this back on the rails. I want to be here. This is where I want to be. I want to win here,” Werenski said.

For the first time in a while, Werenski has good reason to feel that icing a competitive, playoff-caliber roster in Ohio’s capital is possible. The group nearly reached the postseason last year thanks to a late-winter surge after new head coach Rick Bowness took over behind the bench.

With Bowness back and the addition of an impact winger in Valeri Nichushkin to the lineup, Columbus is squarely in the mix to compete for the third-place spot in the Metropolitan Division or a wild card berth.

“I think we’re going to be in a good spot this year where people aren’t questioning what’s going to happen because I believe we’re a playoff team,” Werenski said.

The Blue Jackets finished last season with a record of 40-30-12, good for a 92-point total that would be enough to get in some years, but was seven shy in an unusually top-heavy Eastern Conference. The Jackets open the new season on Oct. 1 on home ice when they’ll take on the Buffalo Sabres.