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

[elmaco]

Never made sense that Florida used a 13oa pick on Knight then 2 weeks later sign Bobrovsky to a 7 year contract. I guess the bobo signing wasn't a sure thing at the time of the draft

It isn't uncommon for teams to draft the best player available, then trade him.

 

[CanadienShark]

all in on what? Seth Jones is one of the worst Defensemen and top 3 worst contracts in the league.

All in meaning they paid a big price. Jones is not bad. He's overpaid. Retention helps.

 

[Pablo El Perro]

We have no options really at the moment, nobody is good at the back end running it. For PK we don't need him. He's probably an upgrade for the PP too.

Our pp isn't bad, so that doesn't really concern me. This just adds depth on d by pushing guys down, while making our backup goaltending a question.

 

[Yultron]

The Panthers are allergic to first round picks . Haha I’m just kidding , Bill Zito is doing a phenomenal job and the Panthers have a Stanley Cup Championship to show for it

 

[ViD]

Knight is gonna get lit up so badly this year

 

[TotalHomer]

Our pp isn't bad, so that doesn't really concern me. This just adds depth on d by pushing guys down, while making our backup goaltending a question.

It's not bad but the guy at the backend has been bad. Even a slight upgrade would be great.

Backup goaltending is the last worry for me. Bob will play all the games in the playoffs.

 

[Siludin]

Nice move for FLA imo

 

[Mogo]

Jones is just not a reliable 1 PP / 1 PK guy anymore. It’s not for lack of effort.

I'll wait and see what he can do with some good players in Florida and a system in place

 

[centipede2233]

Is Seth Jones at 7M or 7..5M?

7

 

[Dread Clawz]

As a Canucks fan, I am surprised Chicago was able to pull this off but FLA seems very good at identifying Pro's who will fit their system, In Chi, Jones didn't have any help so its hard to really evaluate him as a casual fan. But clearly, FLA really wanted him for what they gave up, plus minimal retention. Hope he does well in FLA, I respect that team, they play hard.

Yeah, especially defensemen . Sylvain Lefebvre does a great job resuscitating defenseman careers. I have no doubt Jones will do well in Florida.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Did anyone know Sam Reinhart had 60 goal potential before he came to Florida? What did they all think about Forsling? Montour?

Zito sees things differently than everyone else.

Anyone betting against his judgment has not learned yet. Good luck.

Seth Jones is about to play the best hockey of his life. He’s locked in w the core. Zito has full faith it will work exceptionally.

Jones is 30. How old were those other guys when they got to Florida?
He is what he is. There's no untapped potential. Good d-man, overpaid. Cap going up by nearly 30$M in the next 3 years.

 

[sxvnert]

Damn. Good trade for both teams.

 

[Petes2424]

Even at $7 million Zito’s taking a pretty big chance this deal works like some of his other have. That’ll all depend on Jones this year and Jones vs losing Ekblad after this year.

The compensation is up in the air too. Hawks may not see that player for 6-7 years and Knight is Knight. It’s not as much as people think right now.

My question is Florida needs to add a goalie now. That’s gonna be a million. So they need to dump around $2.5 million and have 4 real options without touching their core. So who’s it going to be?

They continue to pay the price during their window but theirs is going to be a very hard crash when it happens. They have no system to gut and keep trading high picks. They better hope they win more than just the one cup because they’re pulling a Detroit and a Pittsburgh. Where the rebuild will be from scratch. Those teams had lots of cups to lean on, and 20-25 year runs.

It’s the choice they’re making though. So good luck to them over the next 2-3 years.

 

[kvladimir]

Called it! (Speculation: - Seth Jones says he's talking with the Blackhawks about the possibility of a trade)

EK65 to DAL now?

 

[lanceuppercut75]

...

uhhh...

Chicago has FOUR NHL goalies now, and none of them are waiver exempt.

Three until Brossoit is healthy, then four. More Chicago goalie trades are coming.

 

[Dread Clawz]

I got mixed feelings on this one.

On one hand that top 3 D is looking strong for this year although I do wonder what it means for Ekblad long-term.

On the other if something happened to Bob who is the 2nd option and who is the long-term goalie now?

They will definitely acquire a backup now. Long-term, Kirill Gerasimyuk has put up great numbers in Russia for a few years, but is still unproven in North America. Panthers definitely need to beef up their goalie pipeline.

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

Yeah, especially defensemen . Sylvain Lefebvre does a great job resuscitating defenseman careers. I have no doubt Jones will do well in Florida

Lefebvre is a worthless clown. He would try to turn Gretzky into a 4th line plug.

 

[Dread Clawz]

Jones at 7M isn't so bad, in a world where Brady Skjei gets that much in UFA.

The real cost for the Panthers is Knight. Florida is now a contender in the middle of their contention window who are relying on a 36 YO goalie who's not having a great year. And AFAIK there's no one in the system who could replace him in the near future. I guess Zito looked at last year's playoffs and thought "we don't need great goaltending to win".

And he might very well be right, but it might be uncomfortable for the Panthers when they wind up having to play goalie roulette in a couple years.

This is where Luongo really earns his paycheck.

 

[viper0220]

Win-win for both teams.

 

[Dread Clawz]

Lefebvre is a worthless clown and a mental midget.

No sir, he's a great D coach who also ran one of the best PK's in the league last year.

 

[Ratsreign]

Have to think Panthers dont think Knight can mentally keep it together if being #1. Dont see why otherwise they deal him

It’s probably more that the cap going out is high enough to allow Jones to fit under

 

[Pablo El Perro]

Even at $7 million Zito’s taking a pretty big chance this deal works like some of his other have. That’ll all depend on Jones this year and Jones vs losing Ekblad after this year.

The compensation is up in the air too. Hawks may not see that player for 6-7 years and Knight is Knight. It’s not as much as people think right now.

My question is Florida needs to add a goalie now. That’s gonna be a million. So they need to dump around $2.5 million and have 4 real options without touching their core. So who’s it going to be?

They continue to pay the price during their window but theirs is going to be a very hard crash when it happens. They have no system to gut and keep trading high picks. They better hope they win more than just the one cup because they’re pulling a Detroit and a Pittsburgh. Where the rebuild will be from scratch. Those teams had lots of cups to lean on, and 20-25 year runs.

It’s the choice they’re making though. So good luck to them over the next 2-3 years.

Personally, I'd rather Jones than Ekblad. Not to knock the guy as he brings things to the table, but I wouldn't re-sign Ekblad to his current average. His shot isn't what it used to be, everyone knows he's slow, he loses board battles regularly, and takes too many penalties because of that. Not saying I dislike him, but he needs a babysitter like Forsling.

 

[featherhawk]

love it!

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

No sir, he's a great D coach who also ran one of the best PK's in the league last year.

He is a worthless sack who ruined countless players with Montreal.

 

[Ajex12x]

Jones will be just fine out of the spotlight. Hope Knight can do well