Albert Einstein said it best.
“What is right is not always popular and what is popular is not always right.”
So if Zach Werenski and Kirill Marchenko aren't fully committed to the Columbus Blue Jackets, the solution is simple.
Trade 'em.
Not next season. Not at the deadline. Not after months of speculation and distractions.
This week, if possible, and this summer, for certain.
That might not be popular — but it would be right.
The wheels started to shake a few weeks back when murmurs loudened that Werenski, fresh off becoming the first Blue Jacket to ever win the Norris Trophy, indicated to the team that he was reluctant to sign an extension with the club.
The train went completely off the tracks Friday night when, just before the Blue Jackets selected forward Oscar Hemming with the 14th overall pick in the NHL Draft, ESPN's Kevin Weekes reported that Marchenko is “unlikely to extend with Columbus” when his current contract expires.
Werenski, 28, has two seasons left on his current deal at an average value of $9.58 million. He also has a full no-movement clause, meaning Werenski has full control over his destiny.
The contract situation is different for Marchenko, who is not eligible to become an unrestricted free agent when his current deal expires at the end of this season. Instead, he would become a restricted free agent, meaning the Blue Jackets would still control his NHL rights as long as they issue him a qualifying offer.
That gives Columbus a bit of leverage, but it doesn't erase the looming distractions that the franchise can't afford.
That is not the kind of energy a team trying to change its culture needs.
And that word — culture — has been a major theme around the Blue Jackets lately.
Head coach Rick Bowness, hired in January, has openly challenged the organization’s culture since taking over, pushing for more accountability, more consistency and a stronger standard inside the locker room.
"These guys, they don't care. Losing is not important enough to them. It doesn't bother them," Bowness said just moments after a season-ending defeat at home to the Washington Capitals.
We don't know who Bowness was talking about or if he had specific players in mind, but we do know both Werenski and Marchenko struggled mightily down the stretch.
Werenski had just one goal and three assists in his last 11 games, in which the Blue Jackets went 2-8-1. Going just .500 (5-5-1) in that stretch would've put Columbus in the playoffs.
Marchenko's struggles were even worse, particularly considering he was the team's leading scorer. He scored just two goals in his last 16 games, a stretch in which he was averaging nearly 20 minutes a night of ice time.
It was the second straight season Marchenko went into a drought at the end of the season; he didn't score in his last nine games of the 2024-25 campaign, when the Blue Jackets missed the playoffs by just one game.
Again, that doesn't mean for sure that Bowness was referencing either player when he then discussed the team needing a change in culture — but with the gift of hindsight, it's in the realm of possibility.
"I don't know if I'm back, but if I'm back, I'm changing this culture," Bowness said.
"There are ways (to change culture). I've been around long enough to know I'll find ways. I've had enough experience. We can deal with this. I've dealt with it before. If I'm back, we'll straighten it out."
Bowness signed an extension less than 48 hours later.
Werenski was amongst a few players who pushed back on Bowness' comments. “I don’t think it’s right to say that we don’t hate to lose and that we don’t care," Werenski said in the day between the loss and the Bowness extension. His tone seemed annoyed, to put it lightly.
Zach Werenski says he has a lot of respect for #CBJ head coach Rick Bowness but didn’t agree with Bones’ comments last night about the culture of being okay with losing.
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) April 15, 2026
“I don’t think it’s right to say that we don’t hate to lose and that we don’t care.”
Werenski's words may have been the truth, and Bowness did somewhat walk back his comments about the lack of caring, but the statement loses nearly all value if we're in the twilight of his career in Columbus, which is what Werenski has reportedly hinted at.
A team cannot build a winning culture around players who are already looking toward the exit. More specifically, the Blue Jackets cannot build around players who are halfway out the door.
Columbus has made that mistake before. They've held onto situations too long, tried to patch things together, and hoped problems would fix themselves.
They rarely do. Not in Columbus, not in the NHL, and not in any major sport.
Yegor Chinakhov, Patrik Laine, Seth Jones, Artemi Panarin, and Pierre-Luc Dubois in more modern times — but Jeff Carter, Adam Foote, Ryan Johansen, even Rick Nash, amongst others, fit the bill over the first quarter century of the Blue Jackets existence.
They can't do that again. The locker room does not need that. The organization does not need that.
The fan base certainly does not need that.
Which means one thing: the Blue Jackets should pounce on the best offer (of which there have reportedly been plenty) for each player and turn the page.
From a hockey standpoint, the value for each player may never be higher. Werenski is an elite, top-of-the-league defenseman in his prime. He is the best asset Columbus has and would immediately become a centerpiece for another team.
The same "sell high" concept applies to Marchenko.
He's young, talented, and has the offensive ability teams crave. If he does not see his future in Columbus, as indicated, then holding onto him only creates uncertainty and diminishes that value as time goes by.
It may sound extreme to suggest moving two of the most talented players on the roster, especially Werenski, who has been the face of the franchise for years. But this is exactly the type of situation where emotional attachment can get in the way of making the right hockey decision.
The "maybe they'll change their mind" mindset has doomed the Blue Jackets before, and it has the potential to doom them again.
Every loss would come with questions about commitment and what's happening behind the scenes. The trade questions would not go away. The drama would thicken if the team isn't playing lights out hockey. And if (when) Werenski or Marchenko go through a cold streak? Look out.
It would more than likely be a long, messy saga that the Blue Jackets just can't go through.
Look around the league. The most successful teams are rarely just a collection of skilled players. They are teams where the important players believe in the room, believe in the coaches and believe in the direction.
If Werenski and Marchenko no longer have that belief in Columbus, the Blue Jackets need to respect that reality and move forward without them instead of trying to win the argument of convincing someone to stay when they're unhappy, especially with free agency looming for both.
The silver lining in this is that the Blue Jackets can likely turn the pair into a collection of young, talented, already-in-the-NHL players and emerging stars.
Werenski been linked to several teams, including the Dallas Stars as part of a package that could see Thomas Harley and Mavrik Bourque as the return. That's a great potential get-back. As for Marchenko, the Montreal Canadiens are one of several teams reportedly very interested and willing to pay a premium.
Whatever the returns may be if deals are made, the next version of the Blue Jackets can't be built around players looking for the exit.
It has to be built around players looking for a reason to stay.
