The Blue Jackets’ 2026-27 season could start with a familiar face making history.
Zach Werenski is the pick to become the first 90-point player in franchise history, a mark no Blue Jacket has reached before. The current single-season scoring record belongs to Artemi Panarin, who put up 87 points in 2018-19. Werenski has been close enough to make the leap feel possible, finishing with 82 points and then 81 points over the last two seasons while winning the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman in 2026.
That production has come with limited help around him. The next highest scorer on the roster across that stretch was Kirill Marchenko, who posted 74 points and 67 points, and he is no longer with the team.
For Werenski to get over 90, the path is pretty clear. He has to stay healthy, first and foremost.
Playing the kind of load a No. 1 defenseman carries always brings injury risk, even if all signs suggest his conditioning is better than it has ever been. He also has to keep performing at the same elite level, because the standard he’s set is already sky-high.
The other piece is support. With the roster mostly unchanged from last season, the burden falls on younger players to keep developing and give him more help. And then there’s the power play, which could be the difference between a great season and a record-breaking one.
Over the last two years, 46 of Werenski’s 163 points have come on the man advantage. By comparison, Cale Makar - the other Norris winner in that span - had 64 power-play points over the same period. Add even five more power-play points this season, and Werenski gets awfully close to 90.
That’s why this doesn’t read like a moonshot. If the health holds, the support improves, and the power play clicks, the Blue Jackets may finally have their first 90-point player.
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