I’m going to open our discussion of the trade market for Blackhawks defenseman Seth Jones today with some of the comments made by Dom Luszczyszyn at The Athletic this morning when he analyzed the potential impact of the top defensemen to be rumored available on the trade market right now.
So many Blackhawks fans dismiss Jones’ impact for any number of reasons (cap hit, perceived attitude, consistency of effort, race) and make comments like “trade him for a bag of used pucks” as though the player has limited/no value whatsoever. I cannot say it enough: Jones is a better defenseman than many give him credit in Chicago. Here’s a small reality check:
Jones is still a quality player who can help a lot of teams — as long as expectations are tempered. He’s having a difficult season, sure, but Jones is still a No. 2-caliber defenseman, one who does a lot of things well with the puck. He facilitates offense, he can jump into the rush, and he’s one of the league’s best at retrieving pucks and getting them out cleanly. On a stronger team, his talent would have more opportunity to shine and he might even have a chance to live up to his massive contract. …
Wherever he goes next, the most important thing will be keeping a level head about what he brings. Jones is not the elite franchise defenseman he was once billed as, but he still has potential to seriously move the needle for a contending team.
With that being said, Jones has certainly begged for the spotlight recently, from his initial confirmation of a trade request to his postgame comments after the loss in Utah. Before that game I took stock of the Jones buzz around the league.
Seth Jones voiced his frustration after the Chicago Blackhawks' loss on Tuesday. @Rupper17 and @MarkDParrish discuss his comments. @KathrynTappen | #Blackhawks | #NHLNow pic.twitter.com/379MxGGu5m
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) February 27, 2025Right now, there appear to be four teams that consistently come up when insiders around the league talk about the Jones market: Dallas, Columbus, Florida and Colorado.
Here’s a collection a the latest intel from insiders around the league on Jones discussion.
On Thursday morning, Greg Wyshynski at ESPN went big with his list of trade candidates. Here’s part of what he had to say about Jones:Speculation has ranged from a trade to his native Texas with the Dallas Stars to a move to the Florida Panthers, reuniting him with GM Bill Zito from their days in Columbus. Jones and former teammate Zach Werenski also put a reunion with the Blue Jackets into the discourse.
Also from ESPN, but this comes from their team-by-team trade deadline preview from earlier this week:How do the interested teams go about clearing the space to make a deal happen — while also ensuring they present the sort of package that pleases the Blackhawks? As for the Blackhawks, a Jones trade would likely include salary retention, meaning they would have all three retention spots filled for this season (they’ll get Jake McCabe and Mikko Rantanen off their books in the offseason).
Pierre LeBrun at The Athletic wrote up some of his latest trade market intel on Wednesday. Here’s part of what he had to say about Jones:I’ve chatted with a few teams who view the 30-year-old, right-shot defenseman as a second-pairing blue-liner at this point in his career, which obviously doesn’t justify his $9.5 million salary. But they still do see a good player who can play important minutes.
That contract has five years left after this one. So there’s no question in my mind if the Blackhawks are able to move Jones, it will require either retaining salary or taking back a bad contract. At $6 million or $6.5 million a year, I can see teams perking up. Retaining salary for that many years may seem somewhat onerous if you’re Chicago, but it would improve the actual return on the deal.
The Dallas Stars, according to league sources, would top the wish list for Jones — Dallas being his hometown. Would the Florida Panthers make sense given that Aaron Ekblad is a pending UFA who hasn’t been extended?
Also Wednesday, David Pagnotta and Kate Pettersen (the only Pettersen now skating for the Canucks apparently) for The Fourth Period talked about trade buzz. Pagnotta also mentions Dallas and Florida — and includes the Colorado Avalanche in his list of suitors as well.It's quiet across the NHL right now, but trade talk is about to pick up. In today's edition of “The Latest” presented by @CCMHockey, I join @KatePettersen_ to touch on:– #SeaKraken & Gourde– #TexasHockey targets (not Karlsson)– #NHLBruins options– #GoSensGo fishing pic.twitter.com/VAGG6NibA8
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) February 27, 2025 Scott Powers, Mark Lazerus and Chris Johnston at The Athletic wend ahead and put teams that might be interested in Jones into tiers. The teams that were in their “possibly” tier (the top level): Calgary Carolina Detroit Dallas Florida Tampa Winnipeg However, here’s what they had to say about the likelihood of him landing with the Jets:Jones would be a nice upgrade on the right side for the Jets, who are among the league’s best teams and should be for years to come, with Connor Hellebuyck locked up through 2030-31. But if you’ve ever read one of The Athletic’s anonymous player polls, you know that — fair or not — no-trade clauses were basically invented because of Winnipeg’s mere existence.
Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( The Latest Seth Jones, Blackhawks Trade Rumors )
Also on site :