After Trading Seth Jones, What Does the Chicago Blackhawks' Defense look like Going Forward?

In case you missed it... Seth Jones has been traded to the Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers.... WOW!

I was pessimistic that this deal would get done before the trade deadline, and I had resigned myself that the return would be minimal due to Jones' contract and the perception that he is no longer an elite player. I was shocked to see that the Hawks not only got a 1st round pick, but they also got a tremendous young player!

I'm sorry, but that is a steal any way you slice it.

Jones wanted out, made that public knowledge and yet the Hawks still managed to get a 1st round pick AND Spencer Knight?? Well done Kyle Davidson. Those are two very legitimate assets to receive for Jones and only retaining $2.5 million, while frustrating, is a good deal.

I also want to briefly take a moment to wish Seth well in Florida.

From day one I felt that he got way too much hate, and much of it was simply due to his enormous contract. He was a very good defenseman while he was here, and I think he will prove that he still has great years left as he goes forward with Florida. Good luck Seth!

How does this affect the Hawks D-core going forward?

Well for the rest of this season... It will be rough going.

The Hawks will need to rely much more on the young guys they have, as well as leaning heavily on Connor Murphy, TJ Brodie, and Alec Martinez as the only remaining veterans on the back end.

In fact, one factor no one has mentioned is that this now makes the prospect of moving either Murphy or Martinez less likely. Brodie isn't moveable in my estimation, and he could still be a buyout candidate next season.

But there is now a very real possibility that the Hawks keep Brodie next season as a seventh defenseman, for the simple reason that they will need to hit the salary cap floor.

Remember that while fans have long despised Jones' contract, it actually had become relatively useful as the skyrocketing cap made reaching the floor difficult for the Hawks.

Next season they will likely struggle to hit the floor again and the fact that Brodie is making over $3 million dollars will help them in that department.

The long-term impacts of this move will be felt for years, as the Hawks will now seek to find out exactly how much faith they can put in their young D core.

Will the guys like Nolan Allen, Wyatt Kaiser and Ethan Del Mastro prove worthy of those bottom pairing roles? Or will it become necessary to go out and find another veteran D man to replace Jones for the next several seasons? Or will it be some combination of the two?

My thought is that Martinez will not be back next season, leaving only Murphy, Brodie and Vlasic by that time, as your defensive veterans.

Putting pen to paper... that doesn't inspire confidence.

It will be up to the young star defenseman in the Hawks system like Levshunov, Korchinski and Rinzel to take up the torch and lead the Hawks into the future. I anticipate that next season the Hawks defense will be a very young and inexperienced group, but one with tantalizing talent, speed and upside. These are exciting times, Hawks fans!