FanSided

Why The Chicago Blackhawks Will Probably Never Be Declared The Winner In The Seth Jones Trade

All people tend to see is his massive salary cap hit and production that does not live up to it.

By Todd Welter |
/ Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports
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Not since Alexei Zhamnov has there ever been a more polarizing Chicago Blackhawks player than defenseman Seth Jones.

Maybe it is because of what they both represent.

Zhamnov got a lot of scorn from the fan base as he was the player the Hawks got back in the Jeremy Roenick trade. Then owner Bill Wirtz did not want to pay Roenick a lavish new contract, so the team traded the superstar to the Arizona Coyotes for Zhamnov who was supposed to be a cheaper, suitable replacement.

Zhamnov never had a great career like what was hyped by the franchise when he came to Chicago. He was never truly embraced by a scorned fan base because he represented Wirtz's cheapness.

Jones represents former general manager Stan Bowman's foolish idea to try to pry open a contention window that was never going to happen. Heading into the summer of 2021, Bowman decided to scrap a rebuild and instead went all in by acquiring high-priced veterans like Jones thinking that would return Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane to playoff glory.

It did not. Instead, those moves failed miserably.

The team was never going to contend under then-head coach Jeremy Colliton's rigid system. The team got off to a 1-9-2 start and never recovered. Colliton was fired after that horrid start.

Bowman resigned in disgrace in October of that year after his role in the cover-up of alleged sexual harassment and misconduct by the team's video coach of a player in 2010.

Because of not continuing with a badly needed rebuild during that summer, the Chicago Blackhawks have been left in their current state.

They have also been left with Jones who is taking up $9.5 million in cap space for the rest of the decade. Not only did Bowman trade away defenseman Adam Boqvist, two first-round picks, and a second-round choice to the Columbus Blue Jackets for the exclusive negotiating window for Jones, but he also gave Seth an eight-year, 76 million-dollar deal to go along with it.

That number has stuck in the craw of everyone ever since.

Fans have never forgiven Jones for that, even if it was all Bowman's doing.

The $9.5 million cap hit will always be why the Chicago Blackhawks never win this trade. The moment he signed that deal, he needed to play like Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, and Chris Chelios. That was never going to happen.

Jones has always been a good player during his career. He is a defenseman capable of logging big minutes on the ice (he averaged 24:47 in ice time during his six seasons with the Blue Jackets) and contributing on offense (223 points for Columbus). He went to three All-Star games for the Blue Jackets too.

The problem was he never won a Norris Trophy and Bowman paid him like one. More importantly, Bowman gave a huge contract to a franchise that spent an entire decade trying to manage salary cap problems all while trying to win the Stanley Cup. Sure, the franchise won three of them, but the constant cap troubles meant good players had to leave and eventually the title window was closed.

Everyone knew that contention window was shut except Bowman, but now he is gone. The problem is Jones' contract remains.

It is amplified even more this season especially with Jones going through a rough patch. It was on full display against his former team on Saturday night.

Seth mismanaged a puck in the team's zone which led to a turnover and a quick goal by Columbus 33 seconds into the game. He also committed two horrible penalties.

Jones has one goal on the season and 17 assists. He also missed some time in December with an injury. It has been a rough year for the Blackhawks' highest-paid player.

Being well-paid like Jones is the reason he will never catch a break from the Blackhawks' faithful. His advanced numbers are quite good.

When he has had more nights like he did against Columbus, it gets tough to notice all the little things he is doing. Plus, he gets paid $9.5 million a year.

There are a couple of other reasons the Blackhawks can be viewed as losers in this trade.

The Blue Jackets used the 2021 first-round choice in the trade on Cole Sillinger.

He scored a goal on the Blackhawks in Columbus' Saturday night victory. The center has 23 points on the season. He had 31 points during his rookie campaign and struggled last season.

Overall, he looks like a solid NHL player. The Hawks could use a player like him right now.

The Chicago Blackhawks ended up trading away a top-10 draft pick.

The Hawks ended up as the sixth-worst team during the 2021-22 season. That meant the Hawks gave up a whole bunch of money and a top-10 pick for a player who did not help them win like what was hoped for at the time of the trade.

The Blue Jackets took defenseman David Jirick who has played 40 games so far for the Blue Jackets. He is still in the beginnings of his career so maybe he turns out to be a bust. Maybe he will become a top-pairing defenseman capable of logging huge minutes that will not cost $9.5 million a year for a while.

The key is the Hawks ended up having to start the rebuild during that season but could not use that No. 6 pick as a result of being horrible in 2021-22.

The Hawks ended up trading away Alex DeBrincat to get a top-10 pick in the 2022 draft.

Maybe the Hawks keep a young, budding superstar if they have the No. 6 pick. Instead, general manager Kyle Davidson shocked the world by trading his 40-goal scorer to get the No. 7 pick from Ottawa.

Maybe Davidson still trades DeBrincat since he was set for free agency the next year. Then again, maybe he would have stuck with DeBrincat to build a roster around if he had the sixth pick. He still could have taken Kevin Korchinski at that pick instead of No. 7.

There are still two ways the Blackhawks can make out a winner in this deal.

The first way is Seth Jones finds his offensive game during the rest of his contract. He is still 29 so it is not like when Bowman gave Seabrook a big contract even though his game was in a massive decline.

The Hawks did get a first-round pick back in the 2021 draft as part of the trade package. They used it on Nolan Allen. He is currently playing with the Blackhawks AHL team, the Rockford IceHogs.

He is Chicago Sun-Times Blackhawks beat reporter Ben Pope's eight-ranked prospect. Allen is a physical defenseman who can be a part of the Hawks' three defensive pairings.

Even if Jones starts playing like his career years in Columbus, it may never be enough as all anyone will see is that $9.5 million cap hit and no Norris Trophy. Unless he wins that or is part of the top defensive pairing on a Hawks playoff-winning team, the Blackhawks will probably always lose this deal.

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