Trade Interest Growing For Blackhawks D-Man Seth Jones

Friday, January 17, 2025


 For many who follow the Chicago Blackhawks, this news might have them doing a celly dance. Seth Jones, and his $9.5 million cap hit, have been the bane of many Hawks' fans existence of late, but according to insider Darren Dreger on TSN's Insider Trading, trade interest is growing for the veteran workhorse defenseman.

That name is a surprise to me but again let’s not play with semantics here. It’s not like Kyle Davidson and the Chicago Blackhawks are shopping the defenseman. I mean, he’s got a pile of years left at $9.5 million AAV. His contract doesn’t expire until 2029-30 and he has the full no-move clause across the board. 

But look, he’s a quality defenseman. And yes, teams are calling and they’re asking about Seth Jones’ availability. So it’s going to be something that we have to continue to watch as Kyle Davidson, again, puts some form of stamp in this fight through the rebuild of the Chicago Blackhawks.

One thing you can't take away from Jones is his ability to log heavy minutes. He hasn't averaged less than 24:30 TOI for the last eight seasons. He rarely misses more than a handful of games in any given season, and blocks 120+ shots per year. 

On the other hand, he has compiled a plus/minus rating of minus-119 over the last four and a half seasons (though to be fair, playing on a pretty bad, rebuilding team throughout that time). He posted a minus-4 in their 5-2 loss to Calgary earlier this week.

Unfortunately, that eight-year, $9.5M AAV contract is an albatross, with five more seasons yet to run after this one. The Blackhawks will have to do some serious retention to have a chance to move him. They do have two salary retention slots available, though one of them will likely go towards a Taylor Hall trade as well. 

Insider David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period suggests that Jones would be willing to waive his no-move clause for the right deal. Safe to say, there are many Blackhawks fans who would be pleased to see that. 

Photo: © Sergei Belski-Imagn Images 



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