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

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.