The Florida Panthers acquired veteran defenceman Seth Jones (30) and a 2026 fourth-round pick from the Chicago Blackhawks in a trade on Sunday ahead of the March 7th deadline.
In return, the Blackhawks received goalie Spencer Knight (23) and a conditional 2026 first-round pick.
Knight is currently 12-8 on the season with a career-best 2.40 goals against average (min. 20 games) and a .907 save percentage.
Chicago agreed to retain 26 percent of Jones’ eight-year, $76 million as part of the deal.
trade alert🔔
📰 ➡︎ https://t.co/gjN0lotc2c pic.twitter.com/c2Bkza5FTG
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 2, 2025
The veteran is currently in his third year of the contract and will look to give the Panthers major defensive help as they look to make another Stanley Cup Finals run to defend their title.
Jones waived his no-trade clause to make the trade happen.
“I’ve been (in Chicago) the last four years through probably the darkest times the Blackhawks have seen for a while,” said Jones. “I think things are moving up, they are moving forward. But I think my timeline might be different than Kyle (Davidson, Blackhawks general manager) and Norm’s (Maciver, associate general manager) and the Blackhawks.”
“There’s nothing against anybody. I’m not holding it against anybody what they decided to do here. Sometimes it’s not in everyone’s plans.”
This comes not long after the team traded veteran sharpshooter Taylor Hall back in January leaving young star Connor Bedard both verbally and physically upset.
Someone please ask Connor Bedard if he's okay pic.twitter.com/pjVjRZRt98
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) February 26, 2025
Meanwhile, the Panthers (37-21-3) boost an already great squad that is currently 8-2 in their last 10 games, riding a three-game win streak and sitting just behind the Toronto Maple Leafs (38-20-2) for the top spot in the Atlantic Division.
“Seth is an elite veteran defenseman and a proven leader in our league,” said Panthers general manager Bill Zito. “He has been one of the most consistent players of the past decade serving as a reliable workhorse on both sides of the puck, and he will help our club continue to compete at the highest level.”
Jones currently has seven goals (five from power play) and 20 assists through 42 games with a -18 +/-
