Confirmed Trade: [FLA/CHI] Seth Jones (26.3% retained; $7M AAV) and 2026 4th round pick for Spencer Knight and 2026 1st round pick

[DrDangles]

its still a long time with deadcap, assuming they will have kids they gotta sign and Im sure they will make more moves as well, also the return for such a long retainment is kinda meh Spencer Knight and a late 1st.
I feel like there should be more here but oh well.

Minnesota is making the playoffs with 14M in dead cap, 2.5 is nothing. Honestly with the situation Chicago is in they should've tried retaining more in hopes of more futures IMO.

 

[Roman Yoshi]

Low key I really love this deal for Chicago. If Knight can be a starter for them and regain some of his form, this is a slam dunk.

Hard to get great value for a player that very clearly wants out.

 

[Arthur Morgan]

Minnesota is making the playoffs with 14M in dead cap, 2.5 is nothing. Honestly with the situation Chicago is in they should've tried retaining more in hopes of more futures IMO.

well maybe they shouldn't have signed Parise and Suter to 15x contracts, that's not a realistic strategy that would work in most teams situations. I disagree on retaining more, if they already got less than they should have at 25% what are the chances it gets that much better at 50%?

 

[ColbyChaos]

View attachment 985294


...yup, 1 Cup in 31 years of existence and you's Da Bomb!!...

MRW seeing the Habs trot out David Desharnais as their #1C for a decade and completely waste Price’s entire career

 

[seanlinden]

Does this impact Ekblad potential contract? Can they fit both in the future?

Not neccessarily. The only players on expiring contracts with the Panthers are Ekblad, Bennett, Samoskevich, Boqvist, Nosek and Schmidt. Keith Yandle's $1.24m buyout ends this year.

They currently have $75m committed to next year to 9 forwards, 5 defencemen, and 1 goalie.

The cap next year is $95.5m.

Yes, it'll be hard for them to give both Ekblad and Bennett $9m each; but if they can get these guys to buy itno the Tampa approach of low taxes, security, weather, hometown discount, etc... and maybe get them at $7.5m or $8m each; that leaves plenty of space to fll out the roster.

 

[Whalers Fan]

People are praising Chicago for their return on Jones. But, does this make them a better team in the long-run? If not, how was that a good return? They also paid two high first round picks to get Jones in the first place.

Chicago gets potentially nothing. A late first round pick 1-2 years from now and a goalie that might be decent.

Chicago needs goaltending for sure. (They foolishly passed on Trey Augustine in favor of Adam Gajan btw). But, Knight is a wildcard.

They also need depth on defense. Was Jones worth 9.5? No. But who else was going to get that money on Chicago’s roster? The guy is playing 24 hard minutes a night. Chicago has nobody to replace him.


I’d like to hear one good decision he has made. He’s been brutal.

That's the ol' "sunk cost fallacy". Chicago is not going to be a contender for quite a few years (if ever, depending on how the rebuild goes). By the time the Blackhawks are ready to compete, Jones' contract will be coming to an end. They get two pieces for the rebuild, while Florida gets a vet defenseman that can help them now. Seems like a win/win trade for the two teams based on where each franchise is right now.

As for Knight being a wildcard, that's pretty much the case with any young goalie. He has the potential to be a #1 goalie, and that's the most you can hope for.

 

[crazyhawk]

That's the ol' "sunk cost fallacy". Chicago is not going to be a contender for quite a few years (if ever, depending on how the rebuild goes). By the time the Blackhawks are ready to compete, Jones' contract will be coming to an end. They get two pieces for the rebuild, while Florida gets a vet defenseman that can help them now. Seems like a win/win trade for the two teams based on where each franchise is right now.

As for Knight being a wildcard, that's pretty much the case with any young goalie. He has the potential to be a #1 goalie, and that's the most you can hope for.

Like your post save for this outlier in bold and I relish our old rivalry with the Habs and always loved the Whalers but you can't say "ever" ... like what is that?!
I like this trade as lemon-aide is always a good thing.

 

[kevsh]

After sleeping on this - but admittedly not spending too much time thinking about it - this probably works out very well for Florida.

First, almost every player on a bad team looks worse, especially analytics-wise than they would on a good or great team. Jones, with a far better team around him is a very solid bet to play at or above his $7M price tag in the short term, and they are very much in a window so the later years are not a concern until they are.

For the Hawks, not sure how this makes them more likely to move out of the basement any time soon? Like others have said Jones may have been overpaid but he played a big role on the blue line and now that's got to be filled

 

[Rschmitz]

Huh!?

The vast majority of players retire before their mid 30’s…

You are talking like they can play until their mid 40’s lol

No, me saying he's not going to be completely useless before the age of 35 is not acting like he can play into his mid 40's, don't be purposefully obtuse. Pointing out that the vast majority of players retire before their mid 30's is about as useful as saying most players don't even make the NHL. No shit.

The average age of the league has gone up considerably, there are over 100 players over 30, there are currently eight teams in the league with an average age of over 30. Projecting that a star player like Jones should still be effective for another 5 years when he's still currently skating ~25 minutes a night may not be guaranteed, but it's very likely to be the case.

 

[Toene]

Pretty obvious lol; theres a Stadium Series game going on right now. Would be a common courtesy to not steal the limelight, plus deals can be done and not reported yet

Pretty much nobody gives a flying f*** about that game. Zito and Davidson probably didnt even know about it.

 

[Laus723]

I’ve shared this card a few times in this thread, mostly because I’m hanging onto it as a reason to like this. I was/am a harsh critic of Seth’s contract, it f’d the other teams with d-men due contracts that year and felt that he was closer to what he’s getting now…with us. I was pleasantly surprised at the card, asked my buddy to pull it when Friedman said we could be a fit.

Fact is, we need a better puck mover who can QB the PP. Ekblad is better being positioned to use his one timer than he is to use his brain that much on the PP. Boqvist didn’t work, Schmidt is decent, Balinskas isn’t the guy, we lost Monty and Jones brings that element as well as size, some physicality, and an opportunity to improve his game on a contender.

I’ve also said that it’s foolish to move on from Knight, Bob is 37. We’re gonna need a new Bob at some point, and what does Zito do? Moves a kid I thought we should hang onto for a guy I was a critic of. Lol

I’m usually pretty close when it comes to what the Panthers are going to do, and they did get a 2nd pair RD, just not in the way I thought. But, Knight wasn’t going to play in the playoffs this year or next, then he’d be due for a new deal. He can be a starter, he makes a lot for a backup, but Zito didn’t foresee him having an OCD issue when he signed him to that contract and imo probably thought he’d overtake Bob for the role. He started that season playing great really.

I trust Zito, he’s made great moves overall, and I trust him here. I wonder if Ekblad is re-signed, tbh. He’s slow, has had leg issues, and can’t get back if the play goes past him. If he’s in front of the play, he’s elite at playing the puck and cutting off angles.

So long, Knight. You guys got a good one Hawks fans.

They couldnt wait another hour and a half to announce that? Lmao

Interesting deal nonetheless

Eh, Boston traded Ullmark right before Game 7 in the Finals. IMO timing isn’t a big deal.

 

[sinDer]

No, me saying he's not going to be completely useless before the age of 35 is not acting like he can play into his mid 40's, don't be purposefully obtuse. Pointing out that the vast majority of players retire before their mid 30's is about as useful as saying most players don't even make the NHL. No shit.

The average age of the league has gone up considerably, there are over 100 players over 30, there are currently eight teams in the league with an average age of over 30. Projecting that a star player like Jones should still be effective for another 5 years when he's still currently skating ~25 minutes a night may not be guaranteed, but it's very likely to be the case.

You said that the vast majority of players remain close to their peak until their late 30’s. And this is factually false.

As for Jones, I agree though. He should be effective for the next 5 years.

 

[Beukeboom Fan]

...yup...one...only 23 more to catch up...

Were you alive for any of them?

 

[Rschmitz]

You said that the vast majority of players remain close to their peak until their late 30’s. And this is factually false.

As for Jones, I agree though. He should be effective for the next 5 years.

It's not factually false. The majority of players do stay close to their physical peak until they get into their late 30's, but I can see the confusion so I'll clarify.

Players in general peak in their mid/late 20's, but it's not a bell curve. Sarcopenia doesn't really start kicking in until your mid 30's, players stay near their peak for 5-10 years before all of the age related deterioration really kicks in and they fall off a cliff. Unlike the vast majority of NHL players who need to be at their very peak to stay in the league, the very best players can lose a step or two. That was my only point.

 

[Voight]

Happy with this. Ive been a big Knight fan for a while and he should get plenty of reps to prove he can be a #1.

People thought we would have to pay teams via draft picks to get rid of Jones.

 

[BB88]

You said that the vast majority of players remain close to their peak until their late 30’s. And this is factually false.

As for Jones, I agree though. He should be effective for the next 5 years.

I think more and more top tier players stay

Its’ the fringe players that drop off

 

[WaitingForThatCab]

Does this impact Ekblad potential contract? Can they fit both in the future?

Can they fit both? Yes. I think that people who don't follow the Panthers closely overestimate Ekblad's value a bit. I love the guy and hope he is re-signed, but $9m annually? Even under the new cap, that is a fantasy. Slash that number by 40% and that is probably the starting point in negotiations for Florida after seeing the new cap numbers.

 

[Voight]

Damn. Cats are all in again.

They are probably losing Bennett this summer so they gotta at least go for one more all-in run this year.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

I think it's good for both teams.

Chicago gets a crack at a potential number 1 goalie and a 1st.

They also get rid of a player who doesn't want to be there.

Chicago gets a bit more space to take runs at players this free agency and/or take on bad contracts of useful players who are just overpaid and help surround Bedard better.

Florida gets their Ekblad replacement cheaper than Ekblad's current contract. They shed some salary and should be able to retain Bennett.

Knight gets a chance to show he's a number 1, albeit on a shit team

Today seems like a win all around for everyone.

 

[Whalers Fan]

Like your post save for this outlier in bold and I relish our old rivalry with the Habs and always loved the Whalers but you can't say "ever" ... like what is that?!
I like this trade as lemon-aide is always a good thing.

I only meant that not all rebuilds are successful. We do not know yet how Chicago's rebuild will turn out.

BTW, my name refers to the old Plymouth Whalers of the OHL, not the NHL team in Hartford. I was a long time season ticket holder, and now have US NTDP season tickets since the program bought the arena 10 years ago.

 

[TotalHomer]

...so, besides the six I mentioned...and the two that the original poster already mentioned...right, so besides those eight, Florida has THE BESTEST two defencemen on any conten-...oh, and besides the fact that Jones was mediocre at best in Chicago, so no one really knows how this'll work out now that he's on a better team but also 30 years old and hasn't shown really anything in years...so...yeah, besides all that...uhhh...no, not really...

I'll pass you the salt... oh nevermind

 

[TotalHomer]

...Cup Finals 3 years ago...genius post...

Congrats on your Cups 50-100 years ago. Your team is terrible.

 

[FinlandPanther]

I'll pass you the salt... oh nevermind

I mean the guy is practically talking to himself at this point.

 

[PBPantherfan]

Going to miss Knight he looked like he had turned the corner and had been playing pretty solid recently.

As for Jones he’s what the panthers need. Their second pairing has been meh at best and the third has been a train wreck at times. This slides everybody into their appropriate slot.

Willing to give Jones a chance to see what he can do on a good team. I remember when this was an opinion on an underachieving player the panthers traded a goalie and a first for.

 

[Laus723]

They are probably losing Bennett this summer so they gotta at least go for one more all-in run this year.

Have $20 mil to re-sign him. They want to keep him.