Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski is among the three finalists for the James Norris Memorial Trophy for the second consecutive campaign, the club and league announced today. The award is given annually to the National Hockey League’s top defensive player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-around ability in the position. The other finalists for 2025-26 are Colorado’s Cale Makar and Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin. Werenski finished second in voting for the award last season.
Werenski, 28, registered 22 goals and 59 assists for 81 points, including 18-41-59 at even-strength, with 260 shots on goal and a +7 plus/minus rating on 26:37 of ice time in 75 games with the Blue Jackets in 2025-26. He finished second in the NHL in average ice time, 14th-T in even-strength points and 15th in multi-point efforts (26). He also led league blueliners in multi-point efforts, even-strength goals (tied) and shots on goal and ranked second in points, points-per-game (1.08) and even-strength points, third-T in goals and fourth-T in assists.
The 6-2, 214-pound blueliner led Columbus in assists, points, points-per-game, multi-point efforts and shots on goal and finished third in goals. He set a new single-season club record for multi-point outings and tied the franchise mark for assists for the second consecutive season (also Artemi Panarin, 2018-19). He also registered the third-highest total for even-strength points and fourth-most points in a single campaign.
The Grosse Point, Michigan native, who previously set single-season club records for defensemen with 23-59-82 in 81 contests in 2024-25, is the fifth U.S.-born defenseman in NHL history to record multiple 80-point campaigns, and the third to accomplish the feat in consecutive seasons, joining Phil Housley (1991-92 to 1992-93 with Winnipeg) and Brian Leetch (1990-91 to 1991-92 with NY Rangers). He’s also the third American blueliner to notch consecutive 20-goal campaigns along with Housley (6 from 1986-92) and Reed Larson (5 from 1979-84).
Werenski is the franchise’s all-time leader in assists and ranks second in points, third in games played, fourth in shots on goal and fifth in goals with 135-330-465 and 1,846 shots in 642 career games in 10 NHL seasons with the Blue Jackets. He leads all NHL defensemen in even-strength goals (104) and ranks third in goals, fourth in shots on goal and eighth in points since making his NHL debut in 2016-17. He was selected by Columbus in the first-round, eighth overall, at the 2015 NHL Draft.
The James Norris Memorial Trophy was first presented in 1953-54 by the children of the late James Norris in memory of the former owner-president of the Detroit Red Wings. Nominees are voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association at the end of the regular season with the top three vote-getters designated as finalists.
