NHL futures: Will Blue Jackets' Zach Werenski skate away with the 2026 Norris Trophy?

The Columbus Blue Jackets were unable to end their playoff drought in 2025-26 as it reached six seasons. But there's a strong chance that a member of their team will earn one of the NHL's most prestigious individual awards.

The runner-up for the James Norris Trophy last campaign, Columbus' Zach Werenski is the leading candidate to capture the award this season. The honor would cap a tremendous few months for the 28-year-old Michigan native, who was a member of the United States' gold medal-winning team at the 2026 Winter Olympics in February.

Werenski, who appeared in 74 of the Blue Jackets' first 81 games this season, is second among NHL defensemen with a team-leading 81 points - one shy of the career high he set in 2024-25 - and an average of 1.09 per contest. He entered Tuesday ranking third in goals by a blue-liner (22) and fourth in assists (59) with one game remaining.

The eighth overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, Werenski would become the first member of the Blue Jackets to win the Norris and seventh to claim one of the league's annual individual awards. He would join a group that includes Rick Nash, Steve Mason, John Tortorella and Sergei Bobrovsky.

Werenski's main competition for the Norris seems to be Evan Bouchard of the Edmonton Oilers. The 26-year-old, who was drafted 10th overall in 2018, entered Tuesday having played in each of his team's 81 games and leading all NHL defensemen with 92 points and 71 assists while ranking fifth with 21 goals - all career highs.

NHL futures odds at the major sports betting sites see Werenski as the favorite to win the Norris Trophy, with odds in the -250 to -450 range. Bouchard is the second favorite with prices from +300 to +450, while the oddsmakers have Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres a distant third with odds between +750 and +1600.

It's true that Werenski has slowed down offensively, landing on the scoresheet in only three of his last 10 games. Meanwhile, Bouchard hasn't gone back-to-back contests without a point since mid-January.

But Werenski has recorded 14 more points than Columbus' second-leading scorer (Kirill Marchenko, 67) and has matched the career-high assist total (59) he set last season, when he was runner-up for the Norris. He also is one goal and one point away from equaling the personals bests of 23 and 82, respectively, he posted in 2024-25.

Werenski's goal, assist and point totals from last campaign also were franchise single-season records for a defenseman. Even though he trails Bouchard in assists and points by double digits, and the fact that the Norris Trophy often is given to the blue-liner with the most points, I believe Werenski will edge Bouchard by a slim margin for the award due to the latter's questionable ability in his own end.

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