It would be difficult to find another recent NHL trade that worked out worse for all parties than the Blackhawks’ acquisition of Seth Jones from the Blue Jackets in 2021.
The move flopped for the Hawks in the short term and set their rebuild back in the long term. Hawks fans concentrated their anger on Jones throughout his tenure — because he was in front of them — but the real target was former general manager Stan Bowman.
The Jones trade and all his other poor decisions in the summer of 2021 ruined his Hawks legacy.
The move led to four years of individual frustration for Jones, who pushed for the trade to the Hawks at the time, then pushed for another trade to the Panthers on Saturday, making clear his Chicago experience didn’t come close to living up to expectations. This spring, he’ll participate in non-bubble playoffs for the first time since 2019.
And the deal also didn’t yield all that much for the Jackets. Neither David Jiricek, whom they drafted with the Hawks’ 2022 first-round pick, nor trade centerpiece Adam Boqvist remains in their organization. Cole Sillinger, whom they drafted with the Hawks’ 2021 first-round pick, has turned into a fine but unremarkable player.
Oddly enough, even after trading Jones, the Hawks have more players left from the trade (Nolan Allan and prospect Dominic James, both of whom were drafted with Jackets picks) than the Jackets do.
Seth Jones is “very happy” about going to Florida, per source.
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) March 2, 2025
The retrospective analysis is interesting but largely irrelevant now, though, as the Jackets try to complete their inspiring 2024-25 underdog story with a wild-card berth and the Hawks seek to begin climbing out of their deep rebuild. Times have changed quite a bit since 2021.
Hawks GM Kyle Davidson did well Saturday to get a promising goalie in Spencer Knight and a first-round pick, especially considering how hamstrung he was by Jones’ no-movement clause and onerous salary-cap hit. Knight’s arrival creates a temporary goalie logjam, but his first Hawks start this week — perhaps Monday against the Kings — warrants genuine anticipation.
There have been several major moves in recent years that have created a sense of the Hawks being Davidson’s team now.
Jones, after all, was the last key link to the Bowman era. Tons of Hawks prospects were drafted by Bowman, but only two who played NHL games under him — Connor Murphy and Philipp Kurashev — never left, and Kurashev won’t be around much longer.
The Oilers are Bowman’s team now because they made the unsurprising yet perplexing decision to hire him as their new GM last summer. The Hawks, meanwhile, are thoroughly Davidson’s team.
And now it’s time for Davidson to make his team a real team — an ascending, competitive team — as soon as possible.
Without Jones, the Hawks’ abundant cap space has entered the stratosphere. For 2025-26, they have $56.7 million in committed salary (a number that could decrease after T.J. Brodie and perhaps others are bought out) and $38.8 million in available space — the fifth-most in the league, according to PuckPedia.
For 2026-27, when Connor Bedard’s second contract will kick in, they have $18.9 million in committed salary and a whopping $85.1 million in available space — the most in the league. It’s basically a blank slate.
That means Davidson has an urgent need to bring established talent to the Hawks — to supplement their youth movement, which remains the crux of his plan — and all the money imaginable to do so.
He shouldn’t be reckless just because he can afford to be, of course. And convincing top free agents — such as Mitch Marner, Mikko Rantanen and Aaron Ekblad this summer — to come to the Hawks won’t be easy. But the window couldn’t possibly be more wide open.