Why it is time to appreciate Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Seth Jones

The Chicago Blackhawks are not exactly winning a lot when Seth Jones is on the ice.

When he goes on injured reserve, they lose even more.

That trend continued as the Hawks lost 4-1 against the Vancouver Canucks last night--the day that Jones went on IR for an undetermined amount of time.

Being this bad without him maybe should earn him some appreciation from the fan base that will likely never happen.

He gets paid like a Norris Trophy winner, and his production has not even come close. The salary cap hit of $9.5 million and not playing up to the expectations that come along with it has never made him a fan favorite.

The Hawks' previous general manager also gave up a large amount of draft capital just to have the exclusive rights to sign Jones when the franchise should have kept the rebuild effort going.

What has happened since is the Blackhawks losing a lot and then current GM Kyle Davidson continuing the process of a rebuild that got delayed by Jones' signing along with Marc-Andre Fleury being acquired in the 2021 offseason.

There are times when Jones legitimately earns fans' frustration with him. For example, he did not score a goal in the 2023 portion of last season.

He still plays well enough to be trusted to be on the ice for large chunks of time. Jones is currently leading the league in ice time average.

The Blackhawks will miss the offensive support he provides from the blue line. He currently is averaging 1.1 assists per 60.

With an offense in a rut, it cannot be down one of its best playmakers. It also is not a great time to be without the No. 1 defenseman when the defense has been what is keeping the Hawks relatively in every game.

However, the Blackhawks have enough defensive-minded players to survive his absence. It is not having his offensive skills that is going to hurt.

It all comes to back to how much Jones is making and the trauma fans still have from the Cup days when the team was always up against the salary cap.

That has not been a problem for a while. Fans can fear that his cap hit will suffocate the team once they are ready to be competitive. Right now, who knows when that will be as this team struggles to win, and it is even harder when Jones is on IR.