Blue Jackets’ Zach Werenski Finally Gets to Showcase Talent on Big Stage – The Hockey Writers Columbus Blue Jackets Latest News, Analysis & More

The Columbus Blue Jackets have been one of the biggest stories in the NHL this season. As the 4-Nations Faceoff is getting into high gear, one of their brightest stars will play a key role for his country.

Zach Werenski and Team USA will play their 4-Nations opener on Thursday night against Team Finland at Montreal’s Bell Centre. As expected, he will have an important role for his team similar to the role he has on the Blue Jackets.

For Werenski, he finally gets a chance to showcase just how good he’s been on the big stage. The big stage is something that hasn’t been with the Blue Jackets in recent years.

Lack of National Exposure

The Blue Jackets sit just one point out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. A big reason for that is the season Werenski has put together.

At the 4-Nations break, Werenski is in the conversation for both the Norris and Hart trophies. He has a career-high 59 points in 55 games and could challenge for both 30 goals and 90 points should he keep up the pace the rest of the season.

However, none of the Blue Jackets’ games have been on national TV in the United States. Before the start of the 2024-25 season, the major TV rightsholders in ESPN & TNT announced their national schedules.

The Blue Jackets only had one game on those schedules, the upcoming Stadium Series game against the Detroit Red Wings which will be on ESPN.

But that’s it. Every Blue Jackets’ game has been aired on their local FanDuel Sports Network. That means unless someone is either in market and has that channel or is out of market and has ESPN+, they were unable to watch the Blue Jackets.

The reason for this is pretty simple. The last couple of seasons have not gone the way they hoped it would. Towards the end of the season, planned exclusive games were switched out.

Because not much was expected from the Blue Jackets in 2024-25, the networks elected to shy away from them despite the talent they did have. Not only has the nation at large missed out on Werenski’s season, they’ve missed out on other great performances too including those of Sean Monahan, Kirill Marchenko and Adam Fantilli just to name a few.

Werenski in the Spotlight

By being selected to the 4-Nations, Werenski finally gets his chance to show everyone how good he’s been on the big stage and on national TV. With no Quinn Hughes for Team USA, the top pair will consist of Werenski and good friend Charlie McAvoy of the Boston Bruins.

Werenski will also get to quarterback the second power-play unit at least for the first game with Adam Fox running the top unit. Considering this is the greatest collection of talent at one time for Team USA, having him in this role signals not only how good he is, but how much he’s trusted in key situations.

Werenski leads all NHL defenseman in average TOI per game with 26:53 which is over 2:30 more than last season. He drives the play on offense and on the power play. He kills penalties. He’s seen a dramatic improvement defensively since his early days with the Blue Jackets.

Werenski also has a current 21-game home points streak which is tied for the fourth-longest in NHL history for a defenseman. He usually draws the toughest matchups and is still having a dominant season. If the Blue Jackets eventually make the playoffs, he has as compelling a case as anyone to get MVP votes.

For now, the 4-Nations gives Werenski the opportunity to showcase to everyone what he’s already showcased to Blue Jackets’ fans. His season deserves a lot more attention than it’s gotten despite him rather wanting to talk about his team. It’s historic on some levels. If Team USA eventually wins gold, there’s a good chance he’s heavily involved in making that happen.

Need for Increased Exposure

The Blue Jackets are not the Blue Jackets of the past. There is new leadership in the front office and behind the bench. With Werenski and the rest of their core leading the charge, they’re in the fight for a playoff spot.

This should hopefully lead to some more exposure for their games down the stretch.

The networks can elect to make changes to the schedule based on circumstances. If a particular matchup is no longer appealing, they can opt to switch to a better matchup. The longer the Blue Jackets stay in the race, the better the chances of something like this happening.

The Blue Jackets will have their chance to shine on ESPN on March 1 at Ohio Stadium. After that, they’ve made the case that they deserve more attention given the lack of respect shown to them at the start of the season. Should they make the playoffs, it will be one of the best stories in all of sports in recent memory.

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It’s safe to say many around the country are cheering on the Blue Jackets given how the offseason ended. Having a couple more of their games available nationally would be a welcomed change from the usual. Then the nation can see just how incredible their season has been firsthand.

Having Werenski at the 4-Nations could be the start of some momentum towards more respect for the Blue Jackets in the future. He’s eager to show everyone what he can do to first help his team win this 4-Nations Faceoff and then help his Blue Jackets get back to the playoffs this season.

Werenski being on the national stage was long overdue.