The Chicago Blackhawks defenseman acknowledges it will be hard moving him given his high AAV
Seth Jones confirmed he is talking with the Chicago Blackhawks about trading him.
He cites his desire to win as the Hawks have not done a lot of that since he inked that massive contract in the summer of 2021.
He spoke with Chicago Sun-Times beat reporter Ben Pope about his desire to join a contender going over how he is realistic a trade might not happen given his massive cap hit.
NEW: Seth Jones says he's talking with the Blackhawks about the possibility of a trade.
"I would like to give myself a chance to win in my career. I know that the money is not an easy thing to move, and that’s what we’re figuring out."
Full story: https://t.co/p9tFU5e6QU
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) February 19, 2025
However, Jones has made it clear he has not formally requested a trade.
At this point in the Blackhawks’ rebuild, it makes sense for both parties to go their separate ways. The Hawks have a boatload of promising young defensemen in their prospect pool. All Jones is doing is taking up ice time that could be used toward giving young defensemen such as Ethan Del Mastro and Nolan Allan more NHL experience.
At this point, that is all those two need as they grow professionally.
Plus, top prospect Artyom Levshunov is still refining his game at Rockford. Kevin Korchinski is also with the IceHogs working on being able to perform better at the top level after showing promise in the NHL last season. Sam Rinzel may win the Hobey Baker Award before signing his entry-level deal.
On the flip side, Jones has made it clear, he is not a fan of the losing that comes along with an extensive rebuild.
Jones never really signed up for a rebuild even though he should have seen it coming. Former general manager Stan Bowman tried one more run at building a contender around Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, but it was done with haste, and it was just too top-heavy to ever get the Hawks back into the playoffs.
All bringing Jones in did was delay the inevitable and leave the Hawks stuck with Jones’ $9.5 million AAV through the rest of the decade.
Jones’ cap hit and no-movement clause will make getting a deal done tough.
At least Seth acknowledges that. It is also why this is being described as Jones working with the front office on the possibility of being traded.
He can dictate where he would like to go with his full no-movement clause. However, he cannot dictate if the Blackhawks want to retain any of his salary. To make Jones attractive to any contender, the Hawks would have to absorb some of his cap hit.
The Blackhawks have one retention spot left for this season. If they carried 50% of his AAV, they would be retaining it through the rest of the decade.
A lot can happen between now and 2030 where the Hawks might prefer to not have one of their retention spots clogged up.
At half of his $9.5 cap hit, he would have value on the trade market.
Seth Jones is reportedly working with the Hawks to facilitate a potential trade. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/JRYjMhBu3m
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) February 19, 2025
The Athletic ranks him as the seventh-best potentially available player on the trade market (a subscription is required to access content linked). He can still provide solid offensive support and for the most part, be trusted to be on the ice for over 25 minutes a game.
The problem is you can tell when he has disengaged from the game because he is likely trying to cope with all this losing. Those are the nights he struggles and opponents usually end up scoring a pile of goals with him on the ice.
If Jones wants out, his agent better give the Hawks more than just one team. That would be another hang-up as you can be sure general manager Kyle Davidson would at least like to have somewhat of a bidding war to get the best return possible.
