Last night the Chicago Blackhawks sent defenseman Seth Jones to the Florida Panthers in exchange for goalie Spencer Knight and a first round pick in the 2026 draft.

trade alert🔔

📰 ➡︎ https://t.co/gjN0lotc2c pic.twitter.com/c2Bkza5FTG

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 2, 2025

Blackhawks fans rejoiced as their much maligned defensive pylon was shipped away, and not only that, but his $9.5M cap hit will only be 25% retained by Chicago. Even moreso, the Blackhawks got back a really solid young goaltender and future draft capital.

Seth Jones’ Breakdown

This season in 42 games Jones has 27 points (7 goals, 20 assists). Jones, now 30, has been a Norris trophy candidate with his offensive production, specifically in his prime with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Since coming to Chicago, however, his offensive numbers have dipped and his defensive impact is not only minimal, but it’s more negative impact than anything.

He’s averaging over one giveaway per game this season and has a +/- of -18. Jones is also just a few years removed from putting up back-to-back seasons with a -37 and -38 rating.

Remember how I talked about Corsi% with Kris Letang? Letang’s Corsi% this year is around 49%. Jones’ Corsi% is 45.3%. That’s awful.

The bottom line: Seth Jones is a liability defensively.

Trade Breakdown

The national media seems to be thinking this move is a huge win for a Florida Panthers team looking to win back-to-back Stanley Cups, but the contrary is the truth.

The Panthers got absolutely fleeced with this deal, especially now that they are bound to Jones’ contract for four more years at the conclusion of this season at around a $7.2M cap hit.

His offensive help is good for a defenseman, but his defense led to Blackhawks fans wanting him gone nearly 12 minutes into his Chicago tenure. If you can find a single Blackhawks fan who is upset about the trade, you deserve a cookie for traversing the earth for something that doesn’t exist.

how it feels being freed from seth jones pic.twitter.com/mxVWKcowvv

— kev (@drunktankpiink) March 2, 2025

How This Benefits Pittsburgh

A first round pick, a young goalie to patch up positional problems, and only retaining 25% of an awful contract should mean that Erik Karlsson will be in a different sweater before the trade deadline this week.

Kyle Dubas now has to mobilize. Double phones, triple text message, all the big guns.

Erik Karlsson’s mega-million dollar contract is now obsolete in regrads to the current market. The Blackhawks and Panthers have determined that 2025 is a seller’s year, and the Penguins need to take advantage.

Karlsson is a heck of a lot better offensively than Jones, and their defense is about the same. There exists a team out there that needs a guy like EK65, and if the Panthers were willing to spend that much for Seth Jones, Karlsson specifically should get a huge return.

I would have taken the exact same return for Erik Karlsson in a heartbeat.