Blackhawks trade Seth Jones to Panthers

There was a third significant National Hockey League trade on Saturday. The Chicago Blackhawks traded defenseman Seth Jones to the Florida Panthers according to Stephen Whyno of The Associated Press. In addition to Jones, the Panthers received a fourth round pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. Meanwhile, the Blackhawks will receive goaltender Spencer Knight of Darien, Connecticut and a first round draft pick, which is conditional. The draft pick the Blackhawks will get in the deal will either be in 2026 or 2027, depending on whether our not Florida has a first round pick in 2026 or not.

Seth Jones

The Panthers are the fourth NHL franchise Jones has played for. He has previously been with the Nashville Predators for three seasons from 2013 to 2016, the Columbus Blue Jackets for six seasons from 2016 to 2021, and the Chicago Blackhawks for four seasons from 2021 to 2025.

This season with Chicago, Jones has seven goals and 20 assists for 27 points in 42 games. He is a -18 with 18 penalty minutes, 15 power-play points, two game-winning goals, 81 shots on goal, 83 blocked shots, 62 hits, 18 takeaways, and 56 giveaways.

Jones’s first game-winning goal this season came on November 3, 2024 in a 4-2 Blackhawks win over the Anaheim Ducks. Jones put the Blackhawks up 3-0 with one minute and 55 seconds left in the second period from Connor McDavid of North Vancouver, British Columbia and Lukas Reichel of Nurnberg, Germany.

Jones’s second game-winning goal this season came on January 18 in a 5-3 Blackhawks upset win over the Vegas Golden Knights. Jones scored from Bedard and Frank Nazar of Detroit, Michigan with one minute and two seconds left in the second period to put the Blavkhawks up 4-3 at the time.

Four times Jones has been a NHL All-Star. He was honoured by the Blue Jackets in 2017, 2019 and 2020, and the Blackhawks in 2023.

Spencer Knight

Knight has been with the Panthers since 2020. This season he has a record of 12-8-1, with two shutouts, a goals against average of 2.40, save percentage of .907 and two shutouts. Knight blanked the Carolina Panthers 6-0 on November 30, and the Anaheim Ducks 3-0 on January 18.