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Columbus Blue Jackets' Zach Werenski 2nd in Norris Trophy voting for NHL's best defenseman
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- Columbus Blue Jackets' Zach Werenski 2nd in Norris Trophy voting for NHL's best defenseman
The best season of Zach Werenski's career now includes a second-place finish in the voting for the 2024-25 Norris Trophy given to the NHL's top defenseman.
After a vote by the Professional Hockey Writers Association , the Blue Jackets star finished behind Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche .
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Maker received 176 first-place votes, 13 for second place and two for third. Werenski received 13 first-place votes, 132 for second, 38 for third, seven for fourth and one for fifth. Maker had 1,861 points, followed by Werenski's 1,266 and Vancouver 's Quinn Hughes ' 918. Hughes got two first-place votes.
More: 3 reasons why Columbus Blue Jackets' Zach Werenski is a Norris Trophy finalist
Werenski, the only Blue Jackets defenseman ever named a finalist for the Norris Trophy, led the team in scoring in 2024-25 by setting career highs in goals (23), assists (59) and points (82) to average a career-best 1.01 points per game. He also led the NHL's mid-season 4 Nations Face-Off in scoring and helped the U.S. win the men's world championship gold medal on May 25 in Stockholm, Sweden.
Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski skates around Sabres center Sam Lafferty during Columbus' 3-2 win on April 10.
Werenski also played a lot of hockey. He led the NHL in ice time with 2,166:22 and averaged 26:45 per game, 1:02 more per game than the next closest player (Makar 25:43). He also put together a 22-game home point streak that ended Feb. 25. It tied the third-longest point streak by a defenseman in NHL history. Phil Housley had a 22-game stretch in 1991-92 for the Buffalo Sabres .
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Off the ice, Werenski acted as the Blue Jackets' stand-in captain for more than half of their resurgent season after Boone Jenner underwent shoulder surgery for an injury that occurred during a preseason practice.
Among his offensive exploits, Werenski netted five power-play goals while quarterbacking the top unit and scored one shorthanded goal. He also scored five game-winning goals and put a career-high 298 shots on net among 638 attempts.
Defensively, Werenski played regularly against the opposing team's top line and played a top role killing penalties. He blocked a career-high 131 shots, which ranked second on the team behind defense partner Dante Fabbro 's 136, and the Blue Jackets generated 52.3% of all even-strength shot attempts with Werenski on the ice.
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Makar led all NHL defensemen in goals (30), assists (62) and points (92) while posting a +28 plus/minus and logging 25:43 per game for the Avalanche.
This is a breaking news story that will include comments and further analysis to come
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Zach Werenski finishes 2nd in Norris Trophy vote for Blue Jackets
