Blue Jackets’ Urgent 2026-27 Plans Exposed by Waddell’s Free Agency Press Conference

What a week it has been for the Columbus Blue Jackets. NHL Draft Week was full of rumors of what the team’s future might look like if they didn’t have Zach Werenski or Kirill Marchenko.

Then there was the moment as the Blue Jackets were making their first-round pick that Kevin Weekes said on the air that Marchenko wasn’t going to extend with the team. That put an even darker cloud over the team than was already there. It also took away the shine of the selection of Oscar Hemming.

If that wasn’t enough, Werenski reportedly vetoed a deal to join the Dallas Stars. Consider that for a moment. Things with ‘this’ close to seeing their best player in franchise history gone in the blink of an eye. Try to imagine how crazy things were within the walls as all this was going down.

As rumors continued to swirl after that report, both Werenski and GM Don Waddell released statements indicating that the defenseman was not being traded and would remain with the Blue Jackets. Whew. Got all that?

Now consider the roller coaster of emotions fans were dealing with trying to figure out what was really going on. It went from confusion to anger in seconds. But as more details started to come out, things started to calm down knowing that Werenski wanted to stay with the Blue Jackets.

While things have calmed for now, there are still lingering questions. Even after Waddell met with the media on Thursday in Nationwide Arena to discuss free agency, these same questions persist.

While there was a lot said and unsaid, the press conference made one thing perfectly clear above all else. If you thought there was urgency around the 2026-27 season, not only were you right, you also underestimated how urgent things are.

The Blue Jackets want to win. Whether they can do that or not is the thing everyone will be watching. There is no guarantee that will happen in 2026-27.

Waddell Addresses Werenski

Thursday was Waddell’s first public comments since the statements were released. The GM got straight to the point in indicating how much both sides wanted Werenski to stay.

“The end result is this is what we wanted and we didn’t want to have Zach go anywhere,” Waddell said. “When it came time to make a decision, he made it very clear to me, very directly and very passionate, that he wanted to be a Blue Jacket. He’s been here 10 years and he wanted to remain here. It was music to my ears.”

With all the different reports and rumors going around, it was fair to wonder if the player and team were not on the same page. Waddell not only dismissed that notion, he mentioned the potential impact of the media in all of this.

“There wasn’t miscommunication between me and him and his agent,” Waddell said. “I think, you know, in the media, nothing against media, but when you get involved, sometimes, there was a lot of speculation and what’s going on. I’ve met with Zach multiple times. Obviously talked to his agent many times. It wasn’t a situation that we were on different pages by any means as far as working against each other.”

As we said above, lingering questions remain. One of the biggest questions now is what does the future look like. Waddell was only focused on this upcoming season when asked about if longer-term ideas were discussed.

“What we talked about is Zach wants to be here. He wants to win here. We want to win here. Our fans have been great. They deserve a team to win here. We’re going to worry about this year and put the best team on the ice we can and get back in the playoffs.”

Notice the bolded words. The expectations for the 2026-27 season were summarized in five words by Waddell. The focus for next season is winning. Where it goes after that completely depends on if the Blue Jackets are able to accomplish their goal.

Waddell confirmed this with his own words.

“Tell me how the season’s going to go and we’ll figure it out,” Waddell said. “Of course, I’m going to say if the opportunity presents, we’re going to do everything to keep him. That’s if he wants to stay. So whether it happens on July 1st or Sept 1st, dates aren’t that important right now with some of the guys we have. We’ll just see how this year goes.”

“Again, Zach made it real clear and made it clear to me, was very passionate yesterday when we met and that he wants to be a Blue Jacket. And so we’re going to go from there.”

Waddell Expects Marchenko to Remain a Blue Jacket

Waddell was also asked to address Marchenko’s situation. The GM didn’t want to get into all the specifics. But he did acknowledge that this was different than Werenski’s situation.

“Different circumstances so don’t lump them two together,” Waddell said. “And I’ve had discussions with his agent which we won’t discuss right now. But Marchenko’s going to be a Blue Jacket when the season starts.”

Marchenko has one year left on his current deal before he comes a restricted free agent. There is a desire to try to sign him longer term but other matters are more pressing at this time.

“One of the goals on my plate, we’ve got three more pressing ones right now in front of us,” Waddell said. “There’s lots of time to work on that before the season starts for sure.”

The Urgency of 2026-27

It was abundantly clear before that the upcoming season was of utmost importance. That has been dialed up about 100 notches knowing what’s at stake.

The Blue Jackets have missed the playoffs for six consecutive seasons. Everyone involved with the organization wants to win. The difference between making the playoffs while doing something in them and missing the playoffs will have massive ramifications on what comes next.

All we know right now based on the press conference is that the focus for everyone involved is the 2026-27 season and doing whatever it takes to win. Have the Blue Jackets done enough this offseason? There’s still two and a half months before training camp so they story is not yet complete on the offseason.

But if you look at where the Blue Jackets are compared to those considered to be the contenders, there is a gap. What else will Waddell do to try to bridge that gap? He has to do everyone possible to improve the team and he knows it.

While things have been calmed for now, important questions remain. The answers to those questions will come based on how the 2026-27 season goes.

Buckle up.