Zach Werenski and Auston Matthews may have spent the offseason in very different places, but the questions around both stars have a familiar shape: what happens if the winning doesn’t follow?
Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period weighed in on both situations Tuesday during an appearance on Sirius XM NHL Network Morning Skate with Scott Laughlin and Gord Stellick, and the message was pretty clear. The noise may have quieted down, but that doesn’t mean the underlying issues have disappeared.
In Columbus, Werenski’s stance remains tied to one thing above all else: contention. Pagnotta said Werenski has made it clear he wants to stay with the Blue Jackets if the team can put itself in position to compete. That part, at least, has not changed.
“If you take what Werenski says at heart, and he wants to compete and wants to stick around in Columbus if this team is going to put itself in position to compete,” Pagnotta said.
But the Blue Jackets still have work to do, and not just with Werenski. Pagnotta pointed to the broader list of contract business hanging over the organization, including Kirill Marchenko and Dmitri Voronkov needing new deals.
“So there are some question marks, certainly more,” Pagnotta said. “Werenski wants to win, and I think he’s comfortable there. It’s just a matter of the organization stepping up in that regard.”
Toronto’s situation looks different, but the pressure point is the same. Pagnotta said Matthews has been consistent about his desire to remain with the Maple Leafs as long as the team is built to win.
“I mean, he’s been adamant from the get-go, both publicly and quietly behind the scenes, that he wants to win in Toronto and wants to stick around if the team’s going to be competitive,” Pagnotta said. “He wants to be all about it and be part of it.”
Still, Matthews’ own season matters here too. Pagnotta noted that after what he called a down year last season, the Leafs need to see him rebound.
“It’s one thing to want the team to do well, but at the same time, after a bit of a down season last year and maybe a couple back-to-back, you want to see him stepping up as well,” Pagnotta said. “And I think he’s due.
I think he’s going to have a good season, a rebound type of season. If that’s the case, unless the team can push for a postseason, then he’s all in and going to continue to be all in with the Leafs.”
There’s also the contract clock to keep in mind. Matthews has two years left on his deal and is not eligible for an extension until July.
Pagnotta also contrasted the two organizations when it comes to uncertainty. Columbus, he said, has more moving parts to sort through, including Adam Fantilli.
“The Columbus situation- what happens with them? They’ve got to get (Adam) Fantilli locked in, all of that stuff,” Pagnotta said. “There are a lot more question marks there with the Jackets than there would be with the Leafs at this stage with respect to their top guys.”
The discussion comes after Werenski doubled down during the NHL Player Media Tour on his comments about wanting to play in Columbus. NHLRumors.com noted that it is easy to say that after being traded to Dallas, before ultimately rejecting the deal after management called his bluff.
For now, both players are still in place. But with big seasons ahead in Columbus and Toronto, the next stretch could shape how long that stays true.
In Other News...
Zach Werenski Just Sent Blue Jackets Fans A Huge Message
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For a club trying to turn new additions into real progress, that kind of public commitment carries real weight. Werenski has long been one of the franchises defining players, and when a star of that caliber chooses to reaffirm his place instead of feeding the speculation, it changes the tenor of the whole conversation around the Blue Jackets. There is still plenty to prove on the ice, but the message from one of their anchors was unmistakable: he believes Columbus is worth staying for. [Read more 🡒]
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Fantilli is only part of the larger picture, though. Waddell also plans to review the club's five-year plan and start weighing future contracts for other players, which gives this deadline a little extra weight beyond one deal. For a team trying to build a clearer long-term identity, getting Fantilli settled sooner rather than later would help set the tone for everything that follows. [Read more 🡒]
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At the NHL Media Tour in Las Vegas, Zach Werenski addressed the swirl around his recent trade situation with the Blue Jackets and made clear why the episode never really changed his view of the organization. The week may have been chaotic, but Werenski said he was satisfied to still be in Columbus, where he has built a strong relationship with executive Don Waddell and continues to believe the team can turn its future into something meaningful.
Werenski also framed his commitment in the kind of terms that matter most to a fan base still waiting for a breakthrough. He talked about wanting to win a Stanley Cup with Columbus, even after a stretch of struggles, and his tone suggested a player who sees the road ahead as worth sticking with. For the Blue Jackets, that alone helps quiet a conversation that had started to feel a lot bigger than one player. [Read more 🡒]