ESPN ‘Assumes’ Seth Jones Will Be Traded, Lists Intriguing Destination

Throughout most of the past few years, one of the most talked-about players on the Blackhawks has been Seth Jones, and often not for the best reasons. It’s safe to say that Jones gets a bit more hate than he deserves among Chicago fans because of his bloated contract that will count as $9.5 million toward the cap every year until 2030. It certainly doesn’t help matters that Jones hasn’t been the best leader at times – he’s said with both his words and actions that he doesn’t have much desire to be in Chicago to see the current rebuild through. The alternate captain has earned a reputation for being the last player on the ice and the first player off it.

While Jones’ cap hit isn’t pretty, and his actions aren’t exactly alternate captain-worthy, there’s no denying that he plays a crucial role on the Blackhawks. Before being placed on IR with a foot injury, he ranked first in the entire NHL in ice time per game, averaging nearly 26 minutes per game all season. The big defenseman has all the tools to be a successful blueliner, which is what got him the massive contract in the first place. He has the size, experience, and offensive production to be effective both defensively and on the power play.

This week, Jones was again thrust into the spotlight, but this time not because of his own actions. ESPN senior NHL writer Greg Wyshynski suggested for the second time this season that Jones might be traded before this year’s deadline, implying that the Blackhawks could get a pretty hefty return.

“Jones is going to miss about a month with a foot injury, which will obviously hurt his audition for other teams. Assuming he'll be traded, which remains just an assumption at this point.

Jones had 10 points in 17 games for the Blackhawks, earning half of those while quarterbacking their power play. He's first in the NHL in average ice time (25:43), one of the trademark aspects of the defenseman's game for years.

The logic behind this prediction was that a rising salary cap would make Jones's $9.5 million AAV on his contract (which runs through 2029-30) more palatable to another team. If he showed an uptick in play -- or if another general manager felt his underwhelming numbers in Chicago were due to the Blackhawks being terrible rather than a deficiency with Jones -- perhaps there would be interest.

Again, I don't know anything concrete here, despite some digital hockey media sites treating as news my pondering of Edmonton GM Stan Bowman going after the player he signed in Chicago. But I do know top-pairing defensemen are hard to come by. And I know the Blackhawks remain a team with about a dozen holes to fill.

Perhaps GM Kyle Davidson sees Jones as part of the long-term plan for Connor Bedard & Co., despite not having traded for him or signed him. Or perhaps, if the conditions are right, he moves him to a contender.”

- Greg Wyshynski, ESPN

That’s quite a bit to unpack. The first part that caught my eye was the mentioning of the Oilers as a potential suitor. It would be a bold move in Edmonton, considering they’re almost completely out of cap space and don’t have much room to work with next year. But the point made is a valid one – Bowman was the GM who infamously signed Jones to his current massive contract, so the GM is clearly pretty fond of him.

It’s also pretty favorable for the Blackhawks in this situation that the cap could be going up by several million dollars as early as next year. I wrote last week that the cap increase could be bad news for Chicago, a team that was likely hoping to take advantage of cap-strapped teams in free agency next year. But if it could help them deal Jones and increase the market for such a highly paid defenseman, I’m all for it.

While Jones has proven his value eating up top-pairing minutes throughout this season, trading him could be just what the Blackhawks need. Chicago has proven this season that defense isn’t a problem – youngsters like Wyatt Kaiser and Nolan Allan are more than holding their own, and there’s more talent on the way in Kevin Korchinski, Artyom Levshunov, and Ethan Del Mastro. On the other hand, the Blackhawks have shown a clear inability to score, and could certainly use more talent up front. If GM Kyle Davidson can get that kind of return for Jones before this year’s trade deadline, it would be hard to find anyone too unhappy with such a deal.