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Dissecting Blackhawks defenseman Seth Jones\u2019 performance is always tricky.<\/p>\n
His overpriced $9.5 million salary-cap hit makes him a lightning rod for criticism from fans, many of whom somehow believe the Hawks would be better off without him \u2014 which is objectively untrue. Not only is he a skilled defenseman who eats minutes, but also there are plenty of stats that demonstrate how much worse the Hawks have fared when playing without him in recent years.
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\nJones has objectively struggled, however, in his first three games since returning (just before the holiday break) from a right foot injury that cost him 16 games. It\u2019s a tricky situation for him, too, considering the Hawks changed coaches and systems during his absence.<\/p>\n
He attended all the meetings interim coach Anders Sorensen held to discuss the system changes, but there\u2019s a difference between seeing something on video and doing it on the ice. His teammates got a head start with the latter.<\/p>\n
Sorensen met with him on Friday morning in Buffalo to give some individual feedback.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe just got back, so…you don\u2019t want to put too much on [him],\u201d Sorensen said. \u201cHe\u2019s got to find his game. He\u2019s been around [a long time], and we know what he can do. He knows where his game needs to be. He\u2019s watched a lot of our games; he\u2019s been in meetings. In terms of the concept and the structure, he\u2019s aware of all of it. Now it\u2019s just a matter of executing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jones has averaged 23:55 of ice time in those three games, so his workload remains large \u2014 although slightly smaller than it was under ex-coach Luke Richardson, who was giving him an NHL-leading 25:43 per game.<\/p>\n
The Hawks have an even goal differential of 4-4 during his five-on-five shifts since he returned, and he scored Friday in the Hawks\u2019 6-2 loss to the Sabres. Sorensen commended him for winning a net-front battle to give the Hawks possession and then wisely joining the rush before eventually burying a pretty shot-pass from Pat Maroon.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt comes back to the competing level,\u201d Sorensen said. \u201cThat was a good moment where you see he did that and he was effective.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Jones\u2019 overall analytics in these three games are poorer: the Hawks have been outshot 29-20 with a 34.5% expected-goals ratio during his five-on-five shifts. Fans were apoplectic about an ill-advised pinch that led to a Flames shorthanded goal in his first period back, as well. He just hasn\u2019t looked particularly sharp.<\/p>\n
Jones said Friday morning he\u2019s trying to \u201cget some of the timing back with the breakout plays\u201d and adjust to the faster and more frequent decision-making that Sorensen\u2019s system requires from defensemen.<\/p>\n
He was one player benefiting from Richardson\u2019s passive 1-2-2 forechecking structure because it helped cover for his subpar zone-entry defense and backward skating ability. He has allowed 16% fewer opponent zone entries leading to scoring chances this season than last season, per All Three Zones.<\/p>\n
Sorensen\u2019s neutral-zone trap, which has become basically an aggressive interpretation of a 1-1-3, puts more pressure on defensemen to hold the blue line tightly and gives them less support while doing so. That represents a challenge for Jones.<\/p>\n
Jones said Friday night that he felt better as the Sabres game progressed but knows \u201cthere\u2019s still room to improve to where I was pre-injury.\u201d Sorensen called that a \u201cfair assessment.\u201d<\/p>\n
As far as the injury itself, he\u2019s still dealing with some pain and noticeably limping after every game. But doctors believe his foot is fully healed, and he believes the nagging discomfort is not affecting his play.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just an extremely annoying bone that I had no idea about until you look at the anatomy of the foot,\u201d Jones said. \u201cYou\u2019re like, \u2018What the hell is that?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jones hasn’t looked sharp in his first three games since returning from a right foot injury, partly because he’s behind the curve in adapting to Anders Sorensen’s tactical changes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chicago-blackhawks"],"yoast_head":"\n