The Chicago Blackhawks grant Seth Jones' wish to be traded as he goes to the Florida Panthers

Seth Jones made it clear he wanted out of Chicago.

The Blackhawks granted him his wish as the team has traded him to the Florida Panthers for goaltender Spencer Knight and a future first-round pick.

The nice part of the trade is the Blackhawks do not have to pick up half of Jones' $9.5 million salary cap hit. Instead, the Hawks will use their last retention spot to retain only $2.5 million of that massive AAV. However, they will have to carry that hit through the rest of the decade.

Getting Knight aligns with the Hawks wanting to get a young player back rather than just a bunch of draft picks.

This deal is the best of both worlds in terms of the return the front office is seeking and what they still should be aiming to get at this point in the rebuild. That is still acquiring draft picks.

Knight has made 21 starts this season with a 12-8-1 record, a 2.40 goals-against average, and a .907 save percentage this season. He has a career .906 save percentage, 2.76 GAA, and a 44-25-7 record.

The best part is Knight is 23, still signed through next season, and his cap hit is $4.5 million. When he is set to hit free agency after next season, he will still be a restricted free agent.

However, this could mean Arvid Soderblom's days with the Blackhawks are numbered.

Although maybe the Blackhawks entertain trading Petr Mrazek before the deadline. The issue is he has been struggling lately, and the Hawks no longer have a retention spot if a cap-strapped contender wants Chicago to retain some of his cap hit--even if it is a modest one.

There had been questions about the Blackhawks long-term plan in net with Soderblom failing to put a lock on the No. 1 job last season. The only reason he re-emerged as an option was because Laurent Brossoit needed offseason knee surgery, and a setback required another procedure that has kept him out this season.

Otherwise, Soderblom would have likely been in exile in the AHL. Also, Drew Commesso has been up-and-down in Rockford, so the Hawks give themselves a young netminder who is further along in the development process.

The best part of the deal is the Hawks also get a first-round pick in next year's draft. The team can use that pick to add another potential core piece even if it will likely be later in the opening round. The Hawks could also use that pick to acquire a player capable of skating with Connor Bedard in the offseason.

Also, the Hawks finally get that albatross of Jones' contract off their books. On the flipside, the Hawks now lack a No. 1 defenseman.

While he was never going to live up to that massive deal nor does he have the skill to win a Norris Trophy, Jones is still a viable top pair defender. You could just tell the losing took away his focus during some games.

However, the Blackhawks have a plethora of young defensive prospects to someday fill that void. That is why getting Jones off the team now has more better benefit rather than keeping him because gosh darn it, this team needs a certifiable No. 1 blueliner.

They are so buried in the standings they need to give vital NHL development ice time to youngsters such as Ethan Del Mastro, Nolan Allan (hopefully he comes back from Rockford), Wyatt Kaiser, and Kevin Korchinski (if they decide to recall him instead).

Plus, the Blackhawks still have top prospect Artyom Levshunov honing his game in Rockford and another highly regarded defensive prospect, Sam Rinzel may soon be signing his entry-level deal.

Alex Vlasic may soon reach No. 1 defender status too. So, this deal allows the Hawks to have a viable long-term No. 1 goalie and a first-round pick for an overpaid player who no longer wanted to be here. Sounds like a good deal.