COLUMBUS, Ohio — A collection of notes, insights, ruminations and did-you-knows gathered throughout the week that was for the Columbus Blue Jackets:
Item No. 1: The case for ‘Z’
There are no fewer than seven NHL defensemen this season who performed at a level worthy of winning the Norris Trophy, perhaps the best example yet of how dramatically that position has been transformed in just the past five seasons.
On Thursday, the NHL provided some clarity by announcing the three finalists for the award: Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin, Colorado’s Cale Makar and the Blue Jackets’ Zach Werenski. For many, this was the hardest vote among the postseason ballots.
It was a wild season on the blue line across the league, part of the evolution of the game that will likely be with us for a while. That’s how strong the offensive push has come from behind the play in today’s games.
From 2010-11 to 2020-21 — that’s 11 seasons — there were only five point-per-game seasons by NHL defensemen, and it took five different players to achieve: Kris Letang (2013), Erik Karlsson (2016), Brent Burns (2019), John Carlson (2020) and Makar (2021).
In the last five seasons, it’s been done 17 times by eight different defensemen, including four this season, with Edmonton’s Evan Bouchard (1.16 points per game) and Minnesota’s Quinn Hughes (1.03) joining Makar (1.05) and Werenski (1.08).
The biggest challenge for Norris voters just a few years ago was deciding how much emphasis to put on offensive production versus stellar defensive play. But there are so many candidates to sift through now that the aspect of who actually matches up against top opponents, kills penalties and plays late in games can be forgotten.
The definition of the award — “to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position” — leaves plenty of room to consider a player’s offensive contributions, his ability to control play, possess the puck, etc.
And when we consider how Werenski performs so consistently high on both ends of the ice, it’s beginning to feel as if this might be his year to win his first major award.
There are three main arguments we’d make:
1. The numbers
Bouchard had 21-74-95 in 82 games for the Oilers, but he can be a wildly inconsistent defensive player, and all of his gaffes — under watchful eyes in Canada — end up on highlight/lowlight films, a major hit to his case.
Hughes had an incredible season in Vancouver and Minnesota, transforming the Wild and leading the entire league in ice time. But, incredibly, he rarely kills penalties, spending only 8 minutes, 17 seconds, on the ice all season shorthanded.
Those two are out of the running after the NHL announced its finalists this week, so let’s look specifically at Werenski versus Dahlin and Makar.
No need for fancy stats, just pull the big ones: among defensemen, Werenski ranked in the top four for ice time (26:37, second), goals (22, third), assists (59, fourth), points (81, second), points per game (1.08, second), even-strength goals (18, first), even-strength points (59, second) and shots on goal (260, 1st).
Dahlin and Makar hung brilliant numbers this season, but they’re chasing Werenski in all of those categories.
Further, Werenski took the ice on the fly for 50.8 percent of his shifts. When he took the ice following a stoppage, 32.3 percent were to start in the neutral or defensive zone, compared to just 16.9 percent in the attack zone.
In other words, Werenski was not force-fed offensive situations.
And get this: despite being on the ice for almost half the game, and going toe-to-toe with the opponent’s best players, Werenski was called for only 18 penalty minutes … and he drew 22 penalties.
2. Criteria shift
Incredibly, before Adam Fox of the New York Rangers won the Norris Trophy in 2021, no player had won the award without his club reaching the playoffs. That no longer seems to be such a hard-and-fast rule with voters.
In 2023, Karlsson won the award with the San Jose Sharks, who had the fourth-worst record in the NHL that season.
The Hart Trophy (MVP) is perhaps more complex because it’s clearly written to be the player “most valuable to his team.” But there’s nothing that says the best defenseman has to play for one of the league’s top teams.
The Blue Jackets were the talk of the NHL through much of March, charging back into a playoff spot under midseason coaching hire Rick Bowness, garnering plenty of attention for Werenski and co.
Further, Werenski’s play on the winning goal in Team USA’s Olympic win over Canada — out-battling Nathan MacKinnon for the puck, feeding Jack Hughes for the “golden goal” — is seared into memories after an endless loop of replays.
If Werenski’s 2024-25 season put him on the Norris map, his play this season only fortified that. After years of flying under the radar on a small-market franchise, Werenski has broken through across the league.
3. Game control
Former Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella spent the spring of 2016 watching AHL Cleveland run through the playoffs and win the Calder Cup. Werenski, playing on a player-tryout agreement after finishing his time at Michigan, caught his eye.
Tortorella saw how Werenski could carry the puck, skate through and around traffic and created a role just for his young defenseman: “the rover.”
Werenski’s game has come a long way since then. He’s a much more complete player. Watch closely, and you’ll marvel at how quickly, almost surgically, he uses his stick to disrupt plays or force turnovers.
The fact that Werenski had 44 more shot attempts and 38 more shots on goal than any other defenseman should tell you how often he controls the puck.
Bowness has watched Werenski from afar, of course. But he marveled at his ability to carry the puck and calm down play during harried moments this season.
Increasingly, that’s the job of an elite NHL blueliner: defend, create offense, control the pace of the game.
Item No. 2: Sir Mathieu
The invitation landed as the ultimate compliment.
Blue Jackets winger Mathieu Olivier, who (literally) fought his way into the NHL, was blown away last spring to be invited by Team USA to play in the IIHF World Championships, where fighting isn’t part of the equation.
It was recognition for Olivier that, after a breakout 2024-25 season with the Blue Jackets (18 goals), the hockey world could see not only his fists, but his heart, head and hands.
Regrettably, Olivier had to pass on the invitation because he needed a procedure done on his hand and wanted ample time to heal before training camp in Columbus last fall. But he made a personal vow to earn another invite this spring.
“It’s not like you get one invite and you’re going to get it every year,” Olivier said. “I had to earn it again, and I’m very fortunate.
“Fighting is a major part of what got me here. But it’s great with an invitation like this to showcase that it’s just part of my job. I’m a hockey player first and foremost, and I’m coming off two pretty good, pretty consistent seasons.”
On Sunday, Team USA named Olivier an alternate captain. As he has in Columbus for the past two seasons, he’s going to play a third-line role in the tournament and be asked to forecheck and go hard to the net.
Those are default settings, of course.
“Mathieu has a ton of passion for the game and for his teammates, and that’s obvious,” said USA coach Don Granato, who played, coached and was general manager of the ECHL’s Columbus Chill during the 1990s, before the NHL arrived.
“As a coach, you want that element in your room. It’s infectious. Frankly, guys like that are why I’m excited to go to events like this. You bring guys in from all over, you watch them grow together and compete and become a team.”
Olivier has spent most of his life in Canada, specifically in Quebec City. But he was born in Biloxi, Miss. — the only NHL player ever born in Mississippi — when his father played for the ECHL’s Mississippi Sea Wolves during the 1995-96 season.
He’s a dual citizen of the USA and Canada, but wearing the red, white and blue sweater, Olivier said, will be surreal.
The last time the jersey was seen in international play, of course, was the gold-medal win at the Olympics. And last spring in Sweden and Denmark, Team USA won gold at the World Championships for the first time since 1960.
“It’s a huge honor,” Olivier said. “Right now, the U.S. is the country to beat.
“I’m fortunate to have dual citizenship, but I was born in the U.S., and it’s an honor to represent the country I was born in, where my kids have been born … you know, my kids are most likely going to be USA hockey as well.”
Olivier scored an empty-net goal on Sunday in a 5-2 win over Germany, Team USA’s only tune-up game before the tournament begins this weekend. They open on Friday vs. host Switzerland at 2:20 p.m. ET (on NHL Network).
Item No. 3: Snacks
• There were reports this week that the Blue Jackets have indicated to defenseman Erik Gudbranson, a pending unrestricted free agent, that he won’t be back in Columbus next season. While that’s possible, it hasn’t been decided yet. GM Don Waddell and Gudbranson’s agent, Pat Morris, told The Athletic that no such conversation has taken place. The Blue Jackets are hoping to sign Gudbranson, along with free agent forwards Charlie Coyle, Mason Marchment and Boone Jenner, but Waddell has said that direct negotiations are not yet underway. They can all hit the market on July 1.
• Werenski shared on social media that he and his wife, Odette, became first-time parents last week. Hudson Charles Werenski was born May 6, just four days short of Mother’s Day. He’s eligible for the 2044 NHL Draft.
• AHL Cleveland clinched its first-round playoff series win over Syracuse on May 3 when Zach Aston-Reese scored in triple overtime for a 2-1 win. Incredibly, their second-round series doesn’t start until Thursday in Cleveland, when they host the Toronto Marlies in Rocket Arena. That’s a 12-day break in the middle of the playoffs. “There’s no framework or script for this,” Monsters coach Trent Vogelhuber said. “We gave them a two-day break after the triple overtime game because we had some forwards (Luca Del Bel Belluz and Mikael Pyyhtiä) up around 39 or 40 minutes. We’ve been practicing, we’ve been lifting … by now we know what it takes to get ready, and we’ll be ready. But, yeah, it’s been a bit of a break.” Vogelhuber said “about 95 percent” of the roster attended a Zach Bryan concert on Sunday in Huntington Bank Field, home of the Cleveland Browns. But it was back to work with practice Monday.
• The star of the playoffs so far for AHL Cleveland has been goaltender Zach Sawchenko, who was Jet Greaves’ back-up last season and expected to be Ivan Fedotov’s back-up this season, until he started earning the majority of the playing time down the stretch. Sawchenko, 27, is 3-0 with a .946 save percentage and 1.51 goals-against average in these playoffs, including a 46-save outing in the triple overtime win. “As we worked through the season, it had a little more swing toward even playing time,” Vogelhuber said. “Toward the end of the season, the pendulum shifts toward merit, and I think that earned him some more games. The guys love playing for him, which is so important at this time of the year. He’s always battling, and they respect that.”
• Sawchenko has bounced around a bit during his pro career, from the ECHL to four different stops in the AHL and a brief seven-game run with the San Jose Sharks during the 2021-22 season. Such is the life of an undrafted goaltender. “All you can really ask for is an opportunity,” Sawchenko said, “and I’ve been lucky enough this year with our coaching staff to get that opportunity, and I’ve been able to make the most of it. You never know when your number is going to be called, and you have to be ready, because you might not get another chance. I’m loving this opportunity. It’s a great team, really, and a great situation for me.”
• It wouldn’t be a surprise if we’ve seen the last of Fedotov as a member of the Blue Jackets organization. First off, he’s an unrestricted free agent, free to sign anywhere this summer, including back in Russia. He did not come to North America, of course, to play in the AHL, and he admitted earlier this season that playing in a league with so many gaps in the schedule is a challenge for goaltenders who like regular work. He went 23-16-6 but with an .887 save percentage. Vogelhuber started him in Game 2 of the first round, but he allowed four goals on six shots in only 13:15 and was pulled. Fedotov is still with the club, Vogelhuber said, but Sawchenko started the final two games in round one, with rookie Evan Gardner serving as his backup.
• Here’s Vogelhuber on Aston-Reese, who jumped right in with AHL Cleveland after he was sent to the minors by the Blue Jackets in late January. After 400-plus NHL games, a minor-league demotion can be a tough pill. “We met his first day here, and he was amazing,” Vogelhuber said. “He said, ‘This is a good opportunity. I’m not angry to be here, so just tell me what you need, and I’ll work my ass off for you.’ For me, that’s just … we’re going to get along fine.”
• More from Vogelhuber on Aston-Reese: “When guys who have that much NHL experience are willing to do whatever, what kind of message does that send to guys on their entry-level deals who are still trying to make it. That’s powerful. Zach has earned my respect, and I’d do anything for him just based on the three months he’s been here. We love having him.”
• Forward Oiva Keskinen, the Blue Jackets’ seventh-round pick (No. 194) in 2023, signed a two-year contract with Columbus last summer with the agreement that he’d return to Finland for another year if he didn’t make the NHL roster. He’s expected to play in North America next season — Columbus or Cleveland, we shall see — but he scored a huge goal last week in Finland, ending the longest playoff game in Liiga history. Keskinen’s Tappara Tempere won 3-2 at 9:54 of the fourth overtime. It was a tough-angle shot worth watching a few times.
