What Does Zach Werenski Have To Do To Win The Norris?

With the end of the 2024/25 NHL regular season just around the corner, the anticipated NHL awards are heating up, but one award in particular is the Norris memorial trophy, the trophy awarded to the best defenseman throughout the regular season. With this year's Norris favourite being the Colorado Avalanches Cale Makar, the question has to be asked, what do players like Zach Werenski have to do to become the favourite?

As of now it is safe to say there are three elite defenseman running the NHL this season. Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes who won last year's Norris trophy, Colorado’s Cale Makar who won the Norris in 2022, and Columbus’ Zach Werenski, a player who always falls short in the ballot. But in the 2024/25 season, Werenski has certainly made his case as to why he is the current best defenseman in the league, and has the ability to beat players like Hughes and Makar to the Norris trophy.

Currently Cale Makar is in the perfect position to win the Norris, with 78 points, and 25 goals, he leads the defenseman points race by 9 points, but with the regular season coming to a close, Werenski could make one final push to beat him out. But it's not only the stats which should reflect the Norris winner. Werenski has arguably had one of his best seasons, and despite being 27, has a breakout year in terms of on ice play, and how he carries himself as a leader in his team. Werenski currently sits at the top of his teams stats leaderboard, and has done an exceptional job captaining his team during the absence of captain Boone Jenner. Werenski has already taken on the massive role this season of becoming the captain in the dressing room despite not wearing the ‘C’ on his chest, but with all eyes on him on the ice and in the dressing room as a leader, he has stepped up when it really matters the most. 

Despite having worse stats compared to Makar, Werenski still has the chance to really put his name in the hat for Norris had he managed to lead his team to the Stanley Cup playoffs. With Columbus sitting fifth in the eastern conference wild card, they sit two points off the second wildcard spot, and with leadership and consistency led by Werenski, he could really have cemented his place as the future captain of the Blue Jackets, and put up a more than convincing argument for the Norris.

We all know that Makar is arguably the best defenseman in the league on paper, but in terms of the Norris award, Werenski has effectively carried his team to this position, and has done all the dirty work that goes unnoticed on the ice that really makes his case for this award. Werenski’s work on the ice also shows how vital and intangible he is to the Blue Jackets, and without him the sense of leadership and honour on the ice in Columbus would be lost.

It's more than probable that Makar will go and win the Norris this year purely because of his ridiculous stats on the ice, but Werenski’s year should not go unnoticed, and either with or without the Norris awards with his name on it this year, Werenski has a bright future, and determination to take his challenges to the next step next year.