One of Greg Wyshynski’s bold predictions for the 2024-25 NHL season is that Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Seth Jones will be traded before the season ends. Jones, along with Ducks’ defenseman Cam Fowler were the two biggest names on his list for possible trades, but Jones’ protected contract is a monster, which makes the prediction quite interesting.
Jones, who is signed through the 2029-30 season with a $9.5 million average annual value (AAV), has been a polarizing figure in Chicago since his acquisition. However, with the NHL salary cap set to rise to $88 million this season and potentially clearing $100 million within the next couple of seasons, his deal is starting to look less and less like an albatross.
Interestingly, Wyshynski suggests one possible destination could be Edmonton, where former Chicago GM Stan Bowman, who originally traded for and signed Jones, now works.
Despite a rough tenure with the Blackhawks, Jones remains a valuable asset. His offensive production—25 goals and 119 points in 217 games—is respectable given the state of Chicago’s rebuilding team. More notably, Jones has averaged 25:29 minutes per game, proving he’s still capable of logging top-pairing minutes.
The Blackhawks New Regime Isn’t Committed to Jones
Chicago’s current GM Kyle Davidson did not sign Jones to his current contract. As such, there might not be as great a sense of loyalty to stick it through with the player. But, there’s a problem. Jones will have to agree to any move.
Jones has a full no-movement clause attached to his contract. He’s in the third year of an eight-year deal and would need to approve any move, which will already be challenging considering his salary and term. All that said, if Jones is open to a change and if Davidson feels the Blackhawks’ long-term plans would benefit from moving on, Wyshynski thinks a trade could be on the horizon, especially if a team in need of defensive help is willing to take on the cap hit.
The market for top-four defensemen remains strong. Is it strong enough that a team is willing to talk about adding a $9.5 million defenseman who has been polarizing, over his three-season run with Chicago?
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