Werenski has emerged as the favorite for the Norris Trophy

The Columbus Blue Jackets‘ Zach Werenski has always been a really good defenseman, but he’s clearly vaulted into an elite level over the past couple of years. Last season, Werenski exploded offensively with 23 goals and 59 assists for 82 points in 81 games, earning him a second-place finish behind Colorado Avalanche star Cale Makar in Norris Trophy voting. This season, the eighth overall draft pick from 2015 has taken another step, racking up 21 goals and 56 assists for 77 points through 64 games, putting him on pace for about 90 points by season’s end.

Werenski’s individual excellence has coincided with Columbus’ resurgence as a team under head coach Rick Bowness. The Blue Jackets currently sit second in the Metropolitan Division, and are poised to make the playoffs for the first time since 2020. As a result, Werenski has established himself as the favorite to win his first Norris Trophy as the best defenseman in the NHL.

On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, hosts Tyler Yaremchuk and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton discussed the Norris-worthy season Werenski has been having.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Werenski is the odds-on favorite. I think he would in a lot of people’s top spot on their ballot. I kind of always joked that I think he’s got a better MVP case than he does a Norris case just because he plays so much and he’s so important to that Columbus team. 77 points in 64 games, averaging north of 26 minutes a game, plays in all situations for the Blue Jackets, I can’t find an argument against Zach Werenski.

Carter Hutton: It’s really hard to. The other thing that I noted is he carries the mail for his team offensively. The other take away when I think about points, and we were chatting about how many points would it take for Evan Bouchard to win the Norris, but for Zach Werenski on the Columbus Blue Jackets, look at his supporting cast. He has 77 points, and then it drops down to 59, 55 in Marchenko and Coyle. If you go to any other player, they’re not the leading scorer on their team. There’s always more of a cast. There’s Leon (Draisaitl) and (Connor) McDavid with Bouchard, then you talk about Makar having (Martin) Necas and (Nathan) MacKinnon, and same thing with Quinn Hughes having (Kirill) Kaprizov and (Matt) Boldy. It feels like with Zach Werenski, without him they’re toast.

You can catch the full discussion and the rest of Thursday’s episode here…