Seth Jones will likely have the tag of “overpaid” attached to him for the rest of his time as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks, but overpaid doesn’t mean he doesn’t do his job or is ineffective.
When compared to other top defensemen around the league, Jones lacks the great all-around game or elite level of offense on a consistent basis that the best of the best possess and are paid for. While not being among the elites, he is paid like one of the very best defensemen in the NHL at $9.5 million AAV.
That’s thanks to an eight-year, $76 million contract extension handed out by former Blackhawks and current Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman in July 2021. Jones’ agent, Pat Brisson, took Bowman to the cleaners immediately after he arrived from Columbus in a trade. The deal boosted Jones’ annual pay from $5.4 million. https://puckpedia.com/trade/421
Jones was immediately put in a tough decision that he wasn’t expecting once arriving in Chicago. Bowman traded for him and signed him to that massive contract with the expectation that the team could turn things around and still have some competitive years left. That fell apart immediately and the Blackhawks have finished at the bottom of the standings for three consecutive seasons, all three that Jones has been a member of the team.
Before being acquired by the Blackhawks, Jones earned Norris Trophy votes in four of the previous five seasons, finishing fourth as a 23-year-old in 2017-18. In his final season with the Columbus Blue Jackets, the team wasn’t good and his numbers weren’t as great as a result.
The season following the trade, Jones proved that he still has the capabilities of being a big threat offensively and handling duties as a number one defenseman. He has averaged well over 24 minutes per game of ice time for seven consecutive seasons now. If the Blackhawks didn’t have Jones as their number one defenseman, the team would be without one and in real trouble this season and the near future.
What is the definition of a true number one defenseman? Playing a ton of minutes, logging time on the power play and penalty kill, being trusted in all situations, and doing so effectively. Jones hits all of those as he has played at least 214 minutes on the power play and at least 137 minutes on the penalty kill in all three seasons with Chicago.
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Jones used to start many more draws in the offensive zone than the defensive zone, but that has almost evened right up, proving that he is integral at both ends of the ice and trusted to do more than anyone else on the back-end for the Blackhawks.
On top of everything else Jones does for the Blackhawks, he plays a physical game and blocks shots. The overpaid tag comes from being the fifth-highest paid defenseman in the NHL, tied with Adam Fox and Charlie McAvoy, while earning more per year than d-men such as Roman Josi, Cale Makar, and Quinn Hughes.
Jones isn’t elite offensively as 16 goals and 57 points is a career high, but he is a number one defenseman doing what nobody else on the Blackhawks can right now. At this stage, it is much better that the Blackhawks have him under contract than not and I’m expecting a bounce-back season in 2024-25.
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