Jackets’ Werenski is chasing wins and reaching milestones
Zach Werenski wasn’t aware he was approaching a significant personal milestone last week until right before he got it.
The Blue Jackets’ top defenseman, who is playing his sixth NHL season, picked up a copy of game notes while in a team meeting in Arizona and noticed he was nearing 200 career points. It didn’t take him long to get there, notching five points over his next three games to eclipse the mark.
“I was just standing there looking through (the game preview) in Arizona and saw I was close to it,” said
Werenski, who reached 200 points in a loss to the Vegas Golden Knights last Saturday and had a six-game point
streak going into a game Friday against the Vancouver Canucks.
“I don’t really think about (milestones) too much. To me, 200 is not a huge deal. Obviously, I’m very fortunate to have 200 points in the National Hockey League … but I don’t want to stop at 200 and I have a long time (left) here.”
Werenski, 24, signed a six-year contract extension in July and could be with the Blue Jackets until he’s 31, if not longer. There are likely a lot of milestones ahead for him, especially if his offensive production continues at its current pace.
Prior to playing Vancouver, Werenski averaged nearly a point per game with five goals, nine assists and 14 points. He was also climbing the team’s all-time rankings in other categories, including games played, goals and assists.
Werenski is fewer than 30 games from catching former defense partner Seth Jones for fifth-most among Blue Jackets defensemen in that category. He’s also chasing Jones’ 223 points for the all-time lead among Columbus
defensemen and recently passed David Savard’s 125 assists for third-most among Blue Jackets defenders. He already owns the top spot in all-time goals (70) among defenseman in franchise history.
“Throughout the (first five) years, the main focus was on making the playoffs,” Werenski said. “It still is. Those personal milestones just come with team success and I’ve been fortunate here to have team success for most of my time. Whenever you get a personal milestone like that, it’s always a cool accomplishment, but hopefully there’s a lot more in there.”
Not just goals or points either. Werenski values those stats as a measure of his contribution to the team’s success, but the one he values most is about longevity.
“Anytime someone gets to 1,000 games, it’s impressive,” said Werenski, who was set to play his 353rd game Friday. “Knowing how much there is to it and how hard it is, when guys get to that 1,000-game mark it’s pretty impressive. Points? It’s hard. I don’t really have a goal in mind with points or goals or anything, but guys that can stay healthy and play a lot of games, it’s a cool milestone.” bhedger@dispatch.com @Brianhedger