COLUMBUS, Ohio — It was probably a wise decision by the Columbus Blue Jackets not to hold their annual draft watch party for fans this year.

All due respect to forward Oscar Hemming, whom the Blue Jackets selected with the No. 14 pick on Friday. Hemming, 17, is a big, sturdy forward who will be a sophomore at Boston College this fall. He has the look (6 feet 4, 202 pounds) of an NHL power forward.

But it might be hard for the Blue Jackets, especially general manager Don Waddell, to look toward the future and smile when the house — figuratively, of course — is on fire. Unlike most draft nights, this was not a celebratory night for the franchise.

The doubts regarding the Columbus future of defenseman Zach Werenski, arguably the greatest player in franchise history, became significantly more real earlier in the day with reports by The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun that Waddell has begun to field trade offers for Werenski.

On Thursday, Waddell had said he wasn’t entertaining offers for Werenski until the two could meet after the draft. But it seems increasingly likely that Werenski won’t extend his current contract with the Blue Jackets ($9.58 million salary cap hit) when it expires after the 2027-28 season.

Trading Werenski, 28, is a nightmare scenario for the Jackets, but they may also realize that his value — he’s the reigning Norris Trophy winner, and he has two years remaining on his contract — may never be higher.

There will be at least a dozen teams who will inquire over time but some early teams to monitor with interest in Zach Werenski: Dallas, Carolina and Philadelphia. https://t.co/mE0h0Pa2T0

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 27, 2026

But the news got worse from there.

NHL Network analyst Kevin Weekes reported just before Hemming was selected that right winger Kirill Marchenko, the Blue Jackets’ leading scorer the past three seasons, has indicated to the club that he is unlikely to extend his contract.

Marchenko, 25, has one year remaining on his contract ($3.85 million salary cap hit) before he becomes a restricted free agent in 2027. The Blue Jackets were hoping to sign him to a long-term extension this summer.

And there was a cruel twist to all of this, too.

Waddell had hoped that Thursday’s acquisition of winger Valeri Nichushkin in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche would delight Marchenko and defenseman Ivan Provorov, who count Nichushkin, a fellow Russian, as a friend.

When Marchenko’s agent, Dan Milstein, called Waddell on Friday, saying he wanted to meet after the draft to discuss Marchenko’s future, Waddell thought that could be a positive development — perhaps contract talks.

“I thought it was a different kind of phone call,” Waddell said. “But, obviously, we all found out later that it wasn’t.”

Waddell did not challenge the accuracy of Weekes’ report. Rather, he seemed resigned to it.

“In my 22 years as a GM,” Waddell said, “I’ve had players ask to be moved, but they keep it private, and it doesn’t become public. I’m not sure it’s in everybody’s best interest to make all of this stuff public, but it’s why you guys have your jobs … to ask me questions, and I try to give you the best answers I can.”

It’s nothing new for the Blue Jackets to suffer the loss of top players, by players not only requesting trades (Rick Nash, Jack Johnson), but also opting not to sign contract extensions (Artemi Panarin) or simply playing their way out of town (Jeff Carter, Pierre-Luc Dubois).

Waddell was asked if the Blue Jackets could decide to hold on to Werenski and Marchenko as opposed to trading them this summer.

After next season, Werenski will have less control over his trade destination, which could make it easier for the Blue Jackets to trade him. Also, Marchenko will be a restricted free agent (as opposed to unrestricted), meaning the Blue Jackets would still retain his rights.

“They signed the contract, so if we feel like that’s in the best interest of the Columbus Blue Jackets, where you play out your contract, yeah,” Waddell said.

As for fielding calls on Werenski over the last 24-48 hours …

“Once the (LeBrun) report came out, I was getting calls, and it’s my job as GM — like I’ve said, I’ll listen to anything on anybody,” Waddell said. “It doesn’t mean I have to act on it or counter any offer or anything like that.”

The NHL Draft continues Saturday with Rounds 2 through 7. The Blue Jackets will open the day with six picks, but they lost their second-round pick in the trade for Nichushkin on Thursday.

Waddell is still looking for help on defense, most likely a third-pairing defender to replace Erik Gudbranson, who is heading to free agency.

Then again, it’s hard for Waddell to proceed with building up his roster for the 2026-27 season when two of the pillars he was building around are starting to crumble.