The Chicago Blackhawks are having another miserable season and are well out of the playoff race. They already traded Taylor Hall and could deal more pending free agents by the March 7 trade deadline. After that move, defenseman Seth Jones requested a trade from the Blackhawks. With five years left at $9.5 million per season, his contract would be hard to move. But one anonymous executive told ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski that the deal is not as far-fetched as some fans may think.
“I think this is going to be an interesting deadline. Everybody’s like, ‘We’re going to have money next year.’ So I wonder if you might see some actual contracts move,” Wyshynski wrote. “I think teams might be looking at free agency this summer and wondering what they’re actually going to get out of it. So maybe they’re willing to trade for Seth Jones or something at the deadline.”
The NHL’s salary cap is exploding over the next three years, going from $88 million this year to $95.5 million next season. By 2027-28, the cap will be $113.5 million. So Jones’ $9.5 million deal will be less of an albatross than it is now. Plus, a weak defensive free agency class could lead to a team swinging this deal with the Blackhawks.
The Blackhawks should shed Seth Jones’ contract if possible
In 180 games under this contract, Jones has 95 points and one All-Star Game appearance. His presence on the blue line has not led to team success, missing the playoffs in each season. Jones could be a solid middle-pair defender on a Cup contender but he has proven with the Blackhawks that he is not a number one. That is why Chicago must get rid of this contract while they can.
Jones has a no-move clause throughout his entire contract, so if he wants to be moved now the Blackhawks must take advantage. Teams who need a defenseman may be looking forward to the offseason and seeing a weak free-agency class. Ivan Provorov and Aaron Ekblad are the best defensemen available, and they aren’t much better than Jones.
The only defenseman who teams could pursue in free agency is Jakob Chychrun from the Washington Capitals. He has been a perfect fit in his first year in the nation’s capital and they have plenty of cap space available. Teams like the Panthers, Lightning, and Golden Knights who need a defenseman could swing a deal for Jones knowing Chychrun might be unavailable.
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