The Chicago Blackhawks made a big trade with the Florida Panthers on March 1st that sent Seth Jones to Sunrise in exchange for Spencer Knight and a 2026 first-round pick.
The 30-year-old defenseman didn’t get what he was promised in Chicago and eventually became disgruntled. By the mid-way point of the 2024-25 season, it became clear that the Blackhawks would move him if a team was willing to make a fair deal. The defending Stanley Cup champions did.
When Jones got to Florida, he became “one of the guys” on defense instead of “the guy”. With other stars like Aaron Ekblad and Gustav Forsling in the mix, it’s a lot easier to play your game to the best of your ability.
Jones and Florida made it to the Stanley Cup Final. This is the third year in a row that Florida made it to the big dance, but it is the first time that Jones has been this far.
On Tuesday night, Jones and the Panthers won the Stanley Cup. He went right from the struggling Blackhawks to a team that won the Cup in the same year.
During his run to the ultimate prize, Jones had 9 points over the four rounds. There were big goals, plays made, and the defensive performance his team needed to shut down the opposition.
Jones and the Panthers had to face stars like Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Auston Matthews, Nikita Kucherov, and Mikko Rantanen, amongst others. Without him on the back end, winning the Cup would have been that much more difficult for Florida. It turned out to be a great move.
This was an overall incredible trade deadline for Bill Zito, Florida’s GM. In addition to trading for Seth Jones, he also acquired Brad Marchand from the Boston Bruins. Throughout the playoffs, Marchand was one of Florida’s best forwards. He would have won the Conn Smythe Trophy if Sam Bennett hadn’t scored 15 goals during the postseason.
Now that Jones’ name will be engraved on the Cup, he will spend the entire summer celebrating. For going through what he has since coming to Chicago, he deserves it. He was always respectful and deserved the right to be happy with the way things turned out for him.
The Blackhawks are happy knowing that they have an extra 2026 first-round pick in addition to Spencer Knight, who is a young, promising goalie. If he becomes an above-average starter in the long term, both teams are winners with this trade.
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