After a couple of difficult seasons for the Columbus Blue Jackets, from a performance standpoint, 2024-25 was a taxing one for a different reason. Just after an organizational restructure which seemed so positive, hiring a new coach and general manager, things plunged back into darkness as an unimaginable tragedy befell the team. In the wake of the tragedy came a wave of support from throughout the hockey community and a surge of success from the Blue Jackets on the ice. Players throughout the lineup stepped up, and several had the best seasons of their careers.
One of those players was their top defenseman, Zach Werenski. He’s a guy who I’m not sure I thought couldn’t get any better: a 20-goal caliber defender who put up 11 goals and 57 points through 70 games in 2023-24. However, he found a way to do it, leading all NHLers in ice time this season and becoming the first Blue Jackets’ defenseman and only the second player to put up over 80 points in a season. He led the team in scoring and outscored second-place Kirill Marchenko by eight points, and only trailed Cale Makar in league scoring by a defender.
For all his hard work, Werenski became the first Blue Jacket to be named a finalist for the James Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman. Alongside him are perennial contenders for the award, Makar from the Colorado Avalanche and Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks. Let’s break down the case for Werenski to win and not to win the Norris.
Case For Werenski to Win the Norris
For the award this year, I think it’s safe to say this is a two-horse race between Makar and Werenski. There are a couple of knocks against Hughes that hurt his candidacy. One is that he missed 14 games with injury, and availability is a hair that many split when trying to separate top awards candidates. The other is that his team missed the playoffs. Don’t get me wrong, what Hughes was able to accomplish this season has been nothing short of spectacular. He led the Canucks in scoring by a significant margin and was their one bright spot in a season of disappointment. He would be right up there with the other two finalists if he had only one of those knocks, but both are too much in a year like this.
So, if not Hughes, why should it be Werenski? His team missed the playoffs, too, yes. However, their playoff elimination came on the last day of the regular season. It was very close to going the Jackets’ way. There’s an argument to be made that they would have been nowhere close to contention without his play being at the level it was.
Related: Columbus Blue Jackets’ 2024-25 Player Grades: Defensemen
When you look at Makar, he is an exceptional talent. However, he’s lumped in with a perennial Hart Trophy and Art Ross Trophy candidate in Nathan MacKinnon and a cast of other offensive threats. There’s a reason the Avalanche are consistently in the mix as Stanley Cup contenders, he’s surrounded by a wealth of talent. While Makar is a big piece of that, one could argue that he’s not the most important player on the roster because he finished second in team scoring by 24 points. That same argument cannot be made when looking at the Blue Jackets roster.
To put it a different way, Makar spent the season with another surefire Hall of Fame player in MacKinnon, half a season with likely Hall of Fame player Mikko Rantanen, and was paired with fellow Team Canada roster player, Devon Toews. Werenski spent the season mostly paired with someone the Nashville Predators gave away on waivers, Dante Fabbro, and his forwards were mostly players that have less than four campaigns under their belts and zero playoff experience. That gives Werenski a slight edge.
Some stats help keep Werenski in contention as top dog, with the second most goals, 23, and points, 82, among defensemen this season. He skated the most miles of any player (320), 16 more than Makar (304), and his 131 blocked shots were more than Makar’s 128 – not by much, I know.
The other thing you have to consider is the compassion of the voter. The Blue Jackets were an underdog story and a media darling all season. To see them come up short of the playoffs when so many were rooting for them based on their difficult season might make some people consider Werenski simply as some way to validate what was an amazing run for Columbus. It also doesn’t hurt that Makar has won the award before and Werenski hasn’t. Sometimes we see it go to the guy that hasn’t won it yet because “It’s his turn.” I’m not advocating for either of these as legitimate reasons for him to win, but they are factors that I’m sure many considered when filling out their ballots.
Case Against Werenski to Win the Norris
If you look at this from a metrics perspective, the award is likely Makar’s for a few simple reasons. Voters like simplicity and any sort of benchmark to point to in justification of their decisions. Here are three points in his favor:
- First defenseman to score 30 goals in a season since 2008-09.
- Outscored Werenski by ten points despite playing in one fewer game.
- His team made the playoffs.
Any of those reasons is enough to make any critic of a ballot shrug his shoulders and say, “Well, I can’t argue with that.” It would be nice when considering all the storylines that have revolved around the Blue Jackets to put a bow on the season with their first-ever James Norris Trophy win by Werenski. However, if you look objectively and by the numbers, Makar is the better candidate.
The real debate will come down to how the voters weigh the “more important to his team” argument – it’s the philosophy that won Taylor Hall the Hart Trophy in 2018. Werenski outscoring his next teammate by ten points, while Makar being outscored by 24 points at the hands of MacKinnon could be the difference. Makar is considered by many to be the greatest defenseman of his generation with cause. He’s been revolutionary since joining the league in 2019-20, and by many statistical measures, the 2024-25 season has been his best yet.
With his team missing the playoffs and considering Makar’s otherworldly season, Werenski has an uphill battle to win the Norris. There is a phrase uttered by all the scorned actors at the Academy Awards that has a significant amount of truth. The Blue Jackets and Werenski should listen, say it to themselves and believe it because “It truly is an honor just to be nominated.”
