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Blue Jackets facing crisis as their best players don't seem to want to stay
Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski. Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images

Blue Jackets facing crisis as their best players don't seem to want to stay

By Adam Gretz  |  Last updated Jun 26, 2026 11:51 PM ET
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There might not be a team in the NHL with worse vibes right now than the Columbus Blue Jackets. 

It's not necessarily that the team is bad or that it is lacking in talent. It's the fact that a lot of that talent doesn't seem to want to be there while the organization tries to build itself into something respectable. 

The Blue Jackets were already facing a tough offseason as they tried to shake off a late-season collapse that resulted in them missing the playoffs. 

Now that they are in the offseason, they are trying to deal with uncertain futures regarding two of their best players: defenseman Zach Werenski and forward Kirill Marchenko. 

The discussion around both of them, as well as their willingness to stay in Columbus, should be ominous for Blue Jackets fans and the team.

Zach Werenski and Kirill Marchenko seem to have little interest in staying with Columbus

Werenski's future was already in some doubt coming into the NHL Draft weekend, as word started to surface that he did not have much interest in re-signing with the Blue Jackets when his current contract expires in two years.

General manager Don Waddell said he planned on meeting with Werenski after the draft, and added on Thursday that there are some things that should stay internal and that there was no definitive plan for what path they might take.

More reports surfaced on Friday night that Columbus is starting to listen to trade talks regarding its star defenseman.

But that was not the only bad news for Columbus on Friday.

ESPN's Kevin Weekes reported during the first round of the draft that Marchenko's representation indicated to him that Marchenko did not plan on signing a long-term deal in Columbus after his current contract ends after this season, at which point he would be a restricted free agent.

Waddell was asked about that on Friday night and said all of that was news to him on Friday. He said Marchenko's agents had reached out to him asking to talk earlier in the day, and then he found out through Weekes' report what it was going to be about. 

None of this is good for Columbus, because these two players are not just good players, they are the Blue Jackets' best players.

Werenski is one of the best defensemen in the NHL and just won the Norris Trophy this past season after finishing as a finalist the year before.

Marchenko is a 30-goal scorer, while he and Werenski were the top two point producers on the team this season.

And now both are apparently either counting down the days before they can leave or actively trying to orchestrate a way out as soon as possible. 

Part of this could be about NHL players starting to take more control of their situations and utilizing the trade protections they have and the power they have. 

Another part of it is the fact that Columbus has not been a consistently winning team, and players simply want to be in positions where they feel like they have a chance to compete for a Stanley Cup. 

But another part of this, as it relates to Columbus specifically, is what it says about the current state of the franchise.

When the 2025-26 regular season ended, head coach Rick Bowness shredded his team publicly, saying that too many players don't care and that the team needed a massive culture change. He insisted that if he were brought back, he was going to make sure that culture changed. The Blue Jackets decided to bring him back. 

Now, all of a sudden, the two best players might want out, while the captain for the past five years, Boone Jenner, is expected to leave in free agency. 

Is there a connection there? Is there some sort of disconnect between the coach and the star players? Or do the star players not like being called out?

Whatever the exact reason might be, it is bad news for the Blue Jackets. 

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on X @AGretz

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