Ryan Murray, Gavrikov, David Savard, Kukan and Markus Nutivaara are all NHL-level defensemen who bring a lot of different strengths to the table. Werenski scored his first NHL goal in his second game two days later, against the San Jose Sharks in Columbus. With Jones and Werenski on the top pairing, playing more than 24 minutes a game, they'll be in good shape to do that.The circumstances have changed, and Jones returning for the Stanley Cup Playoffs is a huge positive for the Blue Jackets. When he's paired with Zach Werenski, the two make a formidable duo that can shut down forwards on one side of the ice and score beautiful goals on the other. “We've spent a lot of time, as we've talked about over the past couple of years, wanting more out of him defensively. Zach Werenski has an estimated net worth of over $1 million, as of 2019. Zach Werenski Trying To Relocate “Hot Stick” For Columbus Blue Jackets In Postseason Run By Colin Hass-Hill on July 27, 2020 at 9:15 am Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports While Werenski saw success with Nutivaara, it's clear who the Blue Jackets' best pairing is, even if the xGF% and xGA% show that Jones and Werenski have gotten some breaks, like help from a red-hot goaltender or some good bounces.Defense has been a strength of the Blue Jackets all year, and they'll have to rely on it as the face the offensive firepower of the Maple Leafs.
Maybe it speeds things up a bit provided that both sides can look at Werenski's contract as a barometer for a new deal.The Blue Jackets on Monday re-signed defenseman Zach Werenski to a three-year, $15 million contract.Ultimately, that's what Werenski's contract means for the Provorov situation.So what does the Werenski deal mean for Provorov?Now, let's see what gets done and how quickly. The 20 goals were the most among defensemen in the entire NHL and put him just behind Oliver Bjorkstrand (21) to rank second on his own team.“He's very efficient with it,” Jones said recently. He ranked second among defensemen in NCAA Division I with 36 points, and he was named an AHCA First Team All-American.Soon after finishing his sophomore season at Michigan, Werenski signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Blue Jackets on March 29, 2016.He started the 2016-17 season with the Blue Jackets and made his NHL debut against the Boston Bruins on Oct. 13, 2016 and got an assist for his first NHL point.
When he's paired with Zach Werenski, the two make a formidable duo that can shut down forwards on one side of the ice and score beautiful goals on the other.If Jones and Werenski are together on the top line, John Tortorella still has a wealth of options to choose from to make up his second and third pairings.
I thought after my 16-goal season, I thought that was kind of where I should be. We're hungry and we're ready to go, and I think it's been showing in training camp.”In his quest to become a better defensive player, and thus an improved all-around player, Werenski says he believes he “took a step forward” this year.“I'm not too sure how many more goals I would have scored – maybe a couple – but I was pretty happy to score 20,” Werenski said.
+ ComplianceHelper.getPromptText() + 'Werenski is 22 years old, was drafted eighth overall in 2015 and is coming off a 44-point season in which he played 22:54 minutes per game. When Jones was injured, the Blue Jackets had to shuffle their defensive pairings.