Elliotte Friedman revealed his opinion about the Seth Jones situation on “32 Thoughts: The Podcast”. Usually, as the NHL’s best insider, Friedman’s opinions come from something he’s heard.
He thinks that this is a player-driven story and that Jones brought this to the Blackhawks. That makes sense as anyone would rather play for a winning team but hearing that the Hawks aren’t rushing to make the move is the strange part.
Elliotte didn’t stop there. He claimed that Jones would fit in well with the Florida Panthers. He compared it to the situation that Oliver Ekman-Larson found himself in with Florida last year. OEL is a former star defenseman who revived his career there and that included winning the Stanley Cup.
This is a good call made by Friedman. The Panthers have elite players all over their roster. There is a reason that they are the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Aleksander Barkov is one of those elite two-way centers that you need to win. Gustav Forsling and Aaron Ekblad are high-end defensemen who lead the way on the blue line. Matthew Tkachuk is a high-effort pest-like winger who puts up incredible offensive numbers. In goal, Sergei Bobrovsky is one of the all-time greats.
The main thing that Florida can use before the deadline is a right-shot defenseman and Jones would bring that to them. If the Blackhawks do end up moving him, the Panthers would make a great fit.
Florida would protect him with good matchups and get him out there when he is capable of helping them. You may see the Columbus version of Jones if he went to play in Sunrise.
The Panthers have done a great job of signing their great players to team-friendly deals (relative to what they’d get on the open market right now) which helps them have more cap space to make moves.
Chicago would likely have to retain on Jones in a trade and possibly even use a third team as a broker but this deal is possible financially.
It sounds like Friedman brought this up as a hockey fit but it makes sense both on and off the ice. If Florida is willing to give something up for the Blackhawks to retain on the contract and give them Jones, this is a deal that could be made.
Would Illinois native and current University of Denver Pioneer Jack Devine make sense for the Blackhawks in return? Would Florida give him up? He has been incredible for Denver, who is looking to repeat as National Champions again in 2025. There are other good prospects in their system as well.
What about draft picks? The Hawks probably aren’t getting a first or second-round pick, especially if they landed a good prospect like Devine but there are still good players in the middle of the draft to look out for.
Plenty of teams make sense for this player but Florida could be the ultimate fit in terms of need, financials, and status as a winner.
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