Chicago Blackhawks News: Seth Jones goes on IR, Taylor Hall scratched against Canucks

The Chicago Blackhawks blueline will be without Seth Jones for a while. Also, Taylor Hall is being given additional time to find his game.

Those were the two big announcements head coach Luke Richardson shared before the Blackhawks take on the Vancouver Canucks.

Jones is going on injured reserve with a foot injury. How long he is out will be determined once the team gets back from this West Coast road trip.

Jones has never lived up to the lofty expectations that came from the massive contract he signed and the draft picks that were given up just to get his exclusive negotiating rights. While he will never win a Norris Trophy, despite being paid like one, he does have eight assists on the season.

He also leads the league in ice time. Losing Jones will impact the offensive support he provides from the blue line. It could not have come at a worse time as the Hawks struggle to score goals and are in a pivotal stretch of schedule where they hope to avoid the same fate of the season being meaningless by late December like the 2023-24 season.

One reason last season was lost by the start of 2024 was injuries, especially to the blue line which included Jones missing some time.

At least the Blackhawks have a little bit more depth to possibly survive a few injuries.

Taylor Hall was one of those injuries that impacted the team last season when he was lost for most it with a knee injury.

The former Hart Trophy winner has still not been able to get on track this season with just six points. He has not scored a goal this month. He has gone four games without a point.

Richardson is scratching Hall tonight. The head coach wants to give Hall some more practice time to work on some things before putting the veteran back on the ice.

Having better depth has allowed Richardson to use the healthy scratch more as sending a message. He scratched Philipp Kurashev after a game where he gave an effort that Luke deemed unacceptable.

While he is not trying to embarrass the veteran Hall with his rationale, scratching a former Hart Trophy winner feels like sending a message, and to a veteran finally, that it is time to step up.