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

[Teemu]

He has been playing really well recently, I just hope Chicago fans and media won't try to destroy him if he has 2 bad starts in a row.

There isn't really a Chicago media at the moment. The games aren't on TV anymore and the team sucks so no one cares.

 

[Czechboy]

They need to change the loophole regardless. I don’t like it even as a Florida fan.

100% but I applaud the GM's (and staffs) that figured this out. As an Oil fan - I went through Chia, Holland and now Bowman. I keep seeing strong teams making great trades, being creative and giving their team a chance to win a Cup. Our GM's seem to lose trades and show zero creativity despite very high salaries and, um, 'stanley cup pedigrees'. Bunch of useless dinosaurs. Get me a NERD!!!!

 

[bossram]

I'm surprised FLA went this route. Assuming Tkachuk is back for the playoffs, their only real need was another defenseman. Their usual MO is to find cheap reclamation guys they can turn around, not high-ticket, big-risk deals. FLA's system does insulate defensemen and at a $7M cap hit in a rising cap, I think Jones has a chance to be worth it for the Panthers. This does basically signal they'll let Ekblad go though.

 

[CokenoPepsi]

Good deal for the Panthers

 

[Chaos2k7]

Something tells me that if there was no LTIR loophole that Tkachuk would return before the playoffs.

However, I don't consdier it cheating. I had these fights with Vegas fans for 2 straight years. I changed my mind. I think it's genius and hope my Oilers do it with Kane. It's not illegal. It's being done in broad daylight year after year. pretty sure Vegas is doing it again to with Theodore?

And 'no', I'm not saying they are fake injuries. I believe Stone was hurt too. Just not that conveniently hurt that all the guys are 100% healthy on day 1 of the playoffs.lol

Chucky has been fighting a LBI for a good portion of the year after a knee on knee hit by Kucherov.

 

[Chaos2k7]

I'm surprised FLA went this route. Assuming Tkachuk is back for the playoffs, their only real need was another defenseman. Their usual MO is to find cheap reclamation guys they can turn around, not high-ticket, big-risk deals. FLA's system does insulate defensemen and at a $7M cap hit in a rising cap, I think Jones has a chance to be worth it for the Panthers. This does basically signal they'll let Ekblad go though.

Not necessarily, but I think he needs a paycut from 7.5 to stay.

 

[Space umpire]

He’s already really really bad defensively at 5 on 5. It’s only gonna get worse.

No he’s not.

 

[ColbyChaos]

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.

Logic and critical thinking was not used while writing this post

 

[PBPantherfan]

How many Ca

So how many Canadian players have raised that cup compared to American players. Without Canadians the Panthers and all other Americans team would be dumpster fires.

What does that have to do with what I posted? I was specifically talking about the Habs.

 

[CallMeShaft]

Deal works for both teams.

I have hated Jones in Chicago for a long while now. Best I can describe his play is "lackadaisical" and "nonchalant". Think it might've been hurting the team here more than helping. A guy who plays the most minutes playing like that sets the tempo for how the rest of the team plays. When he's been out this season, I've generally felt the Hawks have played faster, which is the style Davidson wants the Hawks to play.

But in Florida, with the defending champs, he's more likely going to have to adapt a bit to their style of game, instead of the team adapting to his. The benefit of having multiple defenders who are as good or better than him on the roster.

And he really should solidify that D core. On paper (and with a healthy Tkachuk), they look better than they did the last two seasons, both of which had them making it to the Final.

Jones might not be worth half his contract ($9.5m per, not the $7m Florida is paying) in those final two years, but the Cats are in win now mode and pushing their chips in for him is a good, albeit bit ballsy, move.

And while losing Knight may hurt, he was their backup this season. If things go right, he wouldn't have been playing a single minute in the playoffs for them anyways. Knight may not have helped that team go on another run for this season or next, but Jones certainly can.

Hawks get rid of Jones, who again, has been very "lackadaisical" here and may not even be worth half of what we would've been paying him in those final couple of seasons, which are the years the Hawks are hoping to be at least a bit competitive. Hawks also have Levshunov and Rinzel in the pipeline, both former 1st rounders with size and skating, who would be pushing Jones down the lineup in those final years. And those two, along with Korchinski, could eventually have bumped down Jones to the 2nd PP unit, or worse, off the powerplay completely.

If we kept Jones, in those last couple seasons, we very well could've been stuck paying him $9.5m per and only be playing him in a 3rd pairing role. Getting out of that potential situation is a blessing.

I like Knight. Doesn't hold as much value as when he was drafted, but some of that is also due to his cap, which we aren't worried about here. He has the highest chance of anyone in this organization to becoming a starter, a good one at that, so we're happy he's here. More 1sts are also appreciated.

tldr: Jones sucked here, but could certainly be better on a better team. Hawks open space on the right side defense of the future for Levshunov and Rinzel. Happy with Knight and a 1st.

 

[CaptainScrewy]

Knight and that draft pick aren't playing this playoff run or next years. Seth Jones will and at a discounted rate. Huge win.

 

[ColbyChaos]

I don’t think they got the amazing return people are saying they did. They paid more for him than they got in return. So, that’s a net loss and they are also retaining 25% of his salary.

You can’t have a team with kids alone. Frankly, I think keeping him would’ve been more beneficial to the d prospects coming up. Who’s going to replace his minutes? Artyom? He’s not going to be at that level for a long time if ever. Korchinski? He was already put into a position he wasn’t ready for and is now in the minors. Rinzel? He’s going to need some development time before he’s able to be an impact player.

They are good prospects. But, they are all going to have to be put into positions they aren’t necessarily ready for and not all of them are going to pan out. It would’ve been great to see Matthew Schaefer play along side a veteran like Jones.

You said the defense looked great without Jones. Who looked great? Who was amplified by Jones’ absence? Wyatt Kaiser? Del Mastro? If your young guys pan out, these guys are not in the lineup anyways.

Lol, lmao even

 

[ColbyChaos]

If you think Jones is a 3-4 mill a year player that puts Rielly’s value at about 2m to 2.5m correct.

Rielly is an offensively “talented” D man who puts up points playing with Matthews, Marner, Nylander and Tavares. Yet can’t run a PP and is a #6 level guy defensively.
Jones (as the 2 threads about him indicate) is paid like a top 5 (in the league) RHD when he’s more in the 15 to 25 range. He is also good defensively … also a middling top pair level.

I bring this up because you recently praised Rielly. I’m not even a big fan of Jones but your evaluations show how out of touch you are with reality.

If Jones was on the leafs he’d immediately argue that he is underpaid

 

[Linkens Mastery]

I'm willing to bet that Jones looks better away from Chicago.

 

[Beukeboom Fan]

I don’t think they got the amazing return people are saying they did. They paid more for him than they got in return. So, that’s a net loss and they are also retaining 25% of his salary.

You can’t have a team with kids alone. Frankly, I think keeping him would’ve been more beneficial to the d prospects coming up. Who’s going to replace his minutes? Artyom? He’s not going to be at that level for a long time if ever. Korchinski? He was already put into a position he wasn’t ready for and is now in the minors. Rinzel? He’s going to need some development time before he’s able to be an impact player.

They are good prospects. But, they are all going to have to be put into positions they aren’t necessarily ready for and not all of them are going to pan out. It would’ve been great to see Matthew Schaefer play along side a veteran like Jones.

You said the defense looked great without Jones. Who looked great? Who was amplified by Jones’ absence? Wyatt Kaiser? Del Mastro? If your young guys pan out, these guys are not in the lineup anyways.

I would respectfully ask how many Hawks games you've watched this year? During SJ's absence I thought that Crevier actually played really well, and Allan has played well overall during his opportunities. Also thought that KK looked significantly improved compared to last year, while still being really young for the NHL and room to fill out.

I do agree that not everyone will pan out, but the Hawks have a really deep pipeline of dmen. If SJ was excited to help the young guys to develop, I would have been fine for the Hawks to keep him. But he understandably wanted a chance to compete on a contender, and I feel that the Hawks got a decent return considering SJs contract.

Also, while the Hawks paid more to acquire SJ, they also got 3 years of service from him and I don't think that SJ value was going to increase the older he gets.

My last point would be that this trade is only a huge win compared to some folks thought that SJ had negative or at least very limited value.

 

[puterwiz53]

It is obvious that SJ was a cancer in the lockeroom as the Hawks always played much better without him. Jones was holding the team back and ruined many a powerplay. He caused a lot of tension in the lockerroom which destroyed a lot of the morale these young players had. Now the morale of this team will be much better. The Hawks definitely got the better of this trade.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Retaining for more than 5 seasons is tough. I really don't know if it'd make the return worth it. It's a lot in return for Seth Jones (who should basically have like negative value). I don't even know if Seth Jones at 7M is a good contract. Maybe an okay contract.

To me this is not a win for Florida. They gave up a lot, and got a 2/3D (right now) for 5+ years. What will he be towards the end of that deal? Will Bob really be a starting goaltender in three years? You lost your likely future starting goaltender. And a first round pick also isn't nothing.

Chicago only wins if Knight works out or the first turns into a good NHL'er. That's not worth it otherwise to be basically paying 2M in dead cap for more than 5 years without that. Was moving Jones without retaining not possible? Because to me my #1 goal would be moving the whole cap hit. A future here or there wouldn't be my aim. I know 2M isn't the end of the world, but the idea that the Hawks definitely won't be spending to the cap in like 4 years because they aren't now is hard to believe. If their rebuild goes as they want, they will be bringing in some big contracts in the upcoming years and also giving out some big ones to players already on their team.

 

[WhataKnight]

It is obvious that SJ was a cancer in the lockeroom as the Hawks always played much better without him. Jones was holding the team back and ruined many a powerplay. He caused a lot of tension in the lockerroom which destroyed a lot of the morale these young players had. Now the morale of this team will be much better. The Hawks definitely got the better of this trade.

I dunno about that - it seems that the most comparable situation would be Miller’s exit from Vancouver.

It sounds more like intensity and frustration blowing up all at once, also similar to the Vancouver's need for a locker room reset.

Jones is overpaid, and he isn’t my favorite D, but I haven’t heard of him drilling his own teammates through the boards in practices or getting Sean Avery as his life coach or anything. Am I missing something else he did?

 

[torniojaws]

Tkachuk doing the Kucherov special.

Is it then the Florida state special?

 

[BB88]

Seth Jones isn't a bad player, but even with retention he's not worth that cap hit.

That plus what Florida gave up, not sure if the value is there. It's basically an All-in move. He absolutely makes them a better team and cup favorites once again, but I think they heavily overpaid. If they don't repeat, this will look like a massive failure. If it works out, Zito is a genius.

I just feel like giving away your stud future 1G and a 1st for a guy that's like 3-4M overpaid isn't the best way to spend your assets. He's gonna be what, the Panthers 4D ?

Are they better than they were before the trade ? Absolutely

Did they overpay to acquire Seth Jones ? Also, absolutely

Cup or bust

Bob’s 10m contract runs off the books next year

They can turn around and ask who wants to come in and replace him and afford to pay that basically whatever. You don’t think thers going to be lot of attraction?

The core is signed and only need a goalie

 

[MichaelFarrell]

Logic and critical thinking was not used while writing this post

Well, tell me why I’m wrong. It’s one thing to call somebody’s opinion stupid, it’s another thing to actually dispute my points.

 

[WhataKnight]

Deal works for both teams.

I have hated Jones in Chicago for a long while now. Best I can describe his play is "lackadaisical" and "nonchalant". Think it might've been hurting the team here more than helping. A guy who plays the most minutes playing like that sets the tempo for how the rest of the team plays. When he's been out this season, I've generally felt the Hawks have played faster, which is the style Davidson wants the Hawks to play.

But in Florida, with the defending champs, he's more likely going to have to adapt a bit to their style of game, instead of the team adapting to his. The benefit of having multiple defenders who are as good or better than him on the roster.

And he really should solidify that D core. On paper (and with a healthy Tkachuk), they look better than they did the last two seasons, both of which had them making it to the Final.

Jones might not be worth half his contract ($9.5m per, not the $7m Florida is paying) in those final two years, but the Cats are in win now mode and pushing their chips in for him is a good, albeit bit ballsy, move.

And while losing Knight may hurt, he was their backup this season. If things go right, he wouldn't have been playing a single minute in the playoffs for them anyways. Knight may not have helped that team go on another run for this season or next, but Jones certainly can.

Hawks get rid of Jones, who again, has been very "lackadaisical" here and may not even be worth half of what we would've been paying him in those final couple of seasons, which are the years the Hawks are hoping to be at least a bit competitive. Hawks also have Levshunov and Rinzel in the pipeline, both former 1st rounders with size and skating, who would be pushing Jones down the lineup in those final years. And those two, along with Korchinski, could eventually have bumped down Jones to the 2nd PP unit, or worse, off the powerplay completely.

If we kept Jones, in those last couple seasons, we very well could've been stuck paying him $9.5m per and only be playing him in a 3rd pairing role. Getting out of that potential situation is a blessing.

I like Knight. Doesn't hold as much value as when he was drafted, but some of that is also due to his cap, which we aren't worried about here. He has the highest chance of anyone in this organization to becoming a starter, a good one at that, so we're happy he's here. More 1sts are also appreciated.

tldr: Jones sucked here, but could certainly be better on a better team. Hawks open space on the right side defense of the future for Levshunov and Rinzel. Happy with Knight and a 1st.

That’s about what I thought; remembered Levshunov but couldn’t remember Rinzel.

 

[Beukeboom Fan]

Chicago only wins if Knight works out or the first turns into a good NHL'er. That's not worth it otherwise to be basically paying 2M in dead cap for more than 5 years without that. Was moving Jones without retaining not possible? Because to me my #1 goal would be moving the whole cap hit. A future here or there wouldn't be my aim. I know 2M isn't the end of the world, but the idea that the Hawks definitely won't be spending to the cap in like 4 years because they aren't now is hard to believe. If their rebuild goes as they want, they will be bringing in some big contracts in the upcoming years and also giving out some big ones to players already on their team.

Agree its tough to tie up a retention spot for 5 years, but IMO the retention itself is almost completely inconsequential. Hawks are going to struggle to meet the cap floor in the short term. The last year might be iffy, but based on the cap projections the cap could be close to 120M.

 

[AvroArrow]

If you think Jones is a 3-4 mill a year player that puts Rielly’s value at about 2m to 2.5m correct.

Rielly is an offensively “talented” D man who puts up points playing with Matthews, Marner, Nylander and Tavares. Yet can’t run a PP and is a #6 level guy defensively.
Jones (as the 2 threads about him indicate) is paid like a top 5 (in the league) RHD when he’s more in the 15 to 25 range. He is also good defensively … also a middling top pair level.

I bring this up because you recently praised Rielly. I’m not even a big fan of Jones but your evaluations show how out of touch you are with reality.

???

 

[WiLBoY]

Good for Seth Jones

Guy's been on bad teams his whole career