8 reasons why Zach Werenski deserves the Norris Trophy

Not that we needed confirmation, but there’s little arguing Zach Werenski has become one of the best defensemen in the world. 

More proof: A year after finishing second in the Norris Trophy voting, the Blue Jackets blueliner is again one of three finalists for the NHL honor that goes to the best defenseman in the league, as voted by Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. 

And this time around, he may just win it.  

Werenski had another tremendous season while wearing the Union Blue, finishing tied for third among NHL defensemen in goals with 22, tying for fourth in assists with 59 and placing second in points with 81. He’s the only defenseman in the league to place in the top four of all three stats, and he did it all while posting a plus-7 rating, compiling just 18 penalty minutes and leading all league blueliners with 260 shots on goal.  

Fellow finalists Cale Makar (Colorado) and Rasmus Dahlin (Buffalo) also had excellent years, but is this the season Werenski becomes the first CBJ defenseman to win the Norris? 

Here’s eight reasons why Werenski is considered by many the favorite to take home the trophy. 

1. Werenski led NHL defensemen in even-strength points per game. 

A late push by Edmonton’s Evan Bouchard actually left the Oilers standout with 60 even strength points, one ahead of Werenski, but the Blue Jacket played in seven fewer games than Bouchard. 

In all, Werenski’s 18-41-59 line at even strength left him with .773 points per game, the best mark in the NHL among qualifying blueliners. While some defensemen pad their point totals on special teams, Werenski does his best work at even strength. 

2. Werenski became just the second defenseman since 2000 to post a second straight 80-point season. 

A year after putting up 82 points, Werenski followed up with 81 this year, allowing him to join Colorado’s Makar (2023-24; 2024-25) as the only NHL blueliners to reach that mark in consecutive seasons since the century began. 

Before that, the last defenseman to do it two years in a row was Ray Bourque, the Boston legend who did it five consecutive seasons from 1990-94. In fact, only nine NHL defensemen have ever posted consecutive 80-point seasons, a list that includes Werenski, Makar, Bourque, Paul Coffey, Phil Housley, Brian Leetch, Al MacInnis, Bobby Orr and Denis Potvin. 

That’s rare air indeed.  

3. Werenski led NHL defensemen with 26 multipoint games. 

Not only did that mark allow him to finish two ahead of Bouchard for the most in the NHL, Werenski set a new CBJ record, passing the previous mark of 25 set by Artemi Panarin in 2018-19. 

Werenski finished with seven games with three points, two shy of Panarin’s team record, and 19 others with at least two points. He also had a pair of two-goal games, making him one of just 12 NHL defensemen to have multiple this season. 

4. Werenski was the only NHL defenseman to lead his team in scoring. 

Bouchard had Connor McDavid, Makar had Nathan MacKinnon, and Lane Hutson had Nick Suzuki, just to give a few examples, but Werenski nonetheless should get some credit for being the only NHL blueliner to lead his squad in scoring. 

In some cases, that would be damning with faint praise, but for Werenski it just shows how impactful he was throughout the season without having a 100-point forward to help carry the offense.  

5. Werenski finished second among NHLers in average time on ice per game. 

The 26:37 per contest that Werenski skated was behind only the 27:44 of Quinn Hughes, who ate major minutes whether he was in Vancouver or Minnesota. It also placed second in CBJ history behind only the 26:45 that Werenski averaged a season ago.  

Head coach Rick Bowness made a concerted effort to limit Werenski’s minutes after he took over, but in the end, sometimes your best player just has to be on the ice – especially when he recovers as quickly as Werenski usually does. His magnum opus came April 7 in his hometown of Detroit, when Werenski had a Norris moment by playing a career-high 33:26 while scoring a goal, adding an assist and then tallying the shootout winner with a broken skate lace.

6. Werenski is just one of three NHL defensemen with two straight 20-goal seasons. 

The name of the game, after all, is scoring goals, and Werenski continues to be among the best in the NHL in doing it from the blue line. Only Makar and Washington’s Jacob Chychrun join Werenski in reaching the 20-goal mark each of the past two seasons, and only those three and Brent Burns (2016, ‘17) in the past decade have posted consecutive 20-goal campaigns.  

Werenski also notched his third 20-goal season this year, making him one of just four active defensemen – joining Makar, Burns and Erik Karlsson – with at least three.  

7. Werenski also starred on the world stage, earning a gold medal with Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics. 

OK, this isn’t supposed to be weighed in the Norris Trophy debate, as the honor only considers play during NHL games. But it’s also worth mentioning Werenski’s tremendous accomplishment in the context of the season, as he helped Team USA earn just its third gold medal of all time and first since 1980. 

Werenski had the assist on Jack Hughes’ gold medal-winning goal in overtime vs. Canada on the way to finishing the tournament with a goal and five assists in six games with a plus-8 rating. It capped a year with the national team in which Werenski helped Team USA to its first gold at the IIHF World Championships in 92 years, as the Americans won that tournament in May. Over the course of 17 games at those two tournaments and last February’s 4 Nations Face-Off, Werenski posted a 2-16-18 line and plus-20 rating in 17 games. 

8. Werenski tied a CBJ record with 59 assists on the season. 

And whose record did he tie? His own, of course, as Werenski matched Artemi Panarin’s total from 2018-19 a year ago before doing it again it this season. 

In all, his 22 goals were one shy of his team record for defensemen, as were his 81 points. Few players have put their name in the team record book quite like the standout defenseman in his career, and he should keep doing it for the foreseeable future.