Zach Werenski has had an eventful, at times consumingly controversial, summer. After a stretch-run collapse saw the Columbus Blue Jackets miss the playoffs for the sixth straight season, the mood around Nationwide Arena has been tinged with a sense of melancholy.

At the beginning of the summer, Werenski was coming off another outstanding campaign, one in which he was a central part of Team U.S.A.’s gold-medal performance in Paris. Despite his own lack of scoring in the late part of the NHL regular season, his numbers and overall play merited his taking home the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman.

In late April, he was invited to take the stage at Ohio Stadium when country artist Luke Bryan was in town and received a warm welcome from the almost 100,000 in attendance. Biggest of all for Werenski and his wife Odette, was the birth of their first child, son Hudson, in the first week of May.

Then, in the last week of June, a maelstrom of information leaks and social media posts spun off rumors of Werenski’s discontent with his situation in Columbus and a desire to be traded. In response, the Blue Jackets’ front office put a deal together with the Dallas Stars to send Werenski to Texas, which he nixed the next day.

General manager Don Waddell and Werenski issued separate statements on July 1 to quell the increasing dismay stating that both sides wanted Werenski to be in Columbus for a long time and that was their focus going forward. So what did Werenski have to say regarding that week of unfortunate happenings?

“The only thing I can go off of is mine and Don’s conversations, since right when the season ended,” said Werenski today. “I met with him the day after the season. I met with him again here maybe a week later. I met with him in Detroit a few times, a couple of phone calls, and our conversations have been, they’ve been great.”

What about the trade that wasn’t with the Stars? Werenski seemed to be the last one who knew it was in the works.

“I really didn’t give it much of a thought. I honestly went to bed and woke up to that article. So, I don’t know. I didn’t really have too much thought on it. I kind of was trying to figure out what was going on. But, yeah, it got crazy for sure.”

What was emphasized throughout the give and take with reporters was Werenski’s desire to be in Columbus and to win with this team. Today, he clearly wanted to put an end to the negative issues raised this summer so that he can get ready for camp without distractions.

“This is the place I want to be with the guys I want to be around and the teammates I want to be in the battle with and trust to make this team the best it can be. So, it’s all exciting in the midst of all the chaos.”

Exciting in the midst of all the chaos might perfectly capture, in one phrase, what’s happened this summer with Werenski and the Blue Jackets.