Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski never seems to get the respect he deserves. Even after he was awarded the 2026 Norris Trophy, there were some media and fans who refused to give him his flowers.
On Friday, he was also named to the NHL’s first team. Pretty good year for Werenski, yeah? Sadly, it wasn’t enough for some voters. What were they watching? Or were they watching at all?
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Also on Friday, the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association President Stephen Whyno released the full ballots for all awards in what he called “the interest of transparency.”
You can open Whyno’s tweet below and open the document if you’d like.
Are you ready for some weird notes about the Norris voting?
Out of 198 ballots cast for the Norris Trophy, winner Zach Werenski was completely left off four voters’ ballots.
Former NHL Goalie Jonathan Bernier, who is with Le Journal de Montréal, cast votes for Rasmus Dahlin, Moritz Seider, Miro Heiskanen, Cale Makar, and Lane Hutson in that order.
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One SportsNet writer had Rasmus Dahlin, Cale Makar, Evan Bouchard, Jake Sanderson, and Moritz Seider on its ballot.
A Minneapolis newspaper had Cale Makar, Rasmus Dahlin, Evan Bouchard, Lane Hutson, and Quinn Hughes.
A Utah publication had Cale Makar, Miro Heiskanen, Rasmus Dahlin, Erik Karlsson, and Moritz Seider.
To be fair, it’s their decision, but to completely leave off Werenski, who was widely considered the best overall NHL defenseman by hockey experts all over the globe, seems a bit weird.
Of the four ballots who omitted Werenski, only one of them voted for players who all made the playoffs.
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Three of the ballots had the Red Wings‘ Moritz Seider, who also missed the playoffs, so it can’t be that. So what was it?
In the end, the four votes didn’t matter, as Werenski won it going away, but it would be interesting to hear the whys behind not even giving him a 5th-place vote.
Next Up For Columbus: The NHL Draft is on June 26 and 27 in Buffalo, where the CBJ will own pick #14.
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