Everything is coming together for Blackhawks’ Seth Jones

Seth Jones was honest during the preseason, and saying “frustrated” would be putting it mildly. The Blackhawks had a dreadful preseason and when the Blackhawks’ alternate captain was asked if it was frustrating that the roster was different, yet the same issues that previously contributed to losses kept appearing, he replied with a blunt, “Yes,” while speaking with the media after a 6-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild.

Now, two weeks later, there has been a shift. The team is playing a lot more competitively, and Jones has been a player aiding in that shift.

Jones is entering his fourth season with the Blackhawks, and this has been his best start to a season in a Hawks’ uniform. He has six points in six games, which is third-best on the team behind Connor Bedard and Teuvo Teravainen, and leads the team in shots (21), and ice time (25:43 minutes, which is typical for him).

The fun part about these stats is that they also rank amongst the top for NHL defensemen. Jones is sixth-best among NHL defensemen in points so far.

It’s too early to tell if Jones will maintain these point-per-game stats, but here is what I love about this start so far: in four years, his point total in his first six games has always been either three or four points, which is fair, but for this season, it’s more how he is playing compared to the points themselves.

You can tell when a player is playing with confidence and Jones fits that mold. He is shooting the puck, blocking shots, and stopping plays, like that sprawling stop on the San Jose Sharks forward Will Smith on Oct. 17 from what would have been an excellent scoring chance. When it comes to offense, as aforementioned, he is contributing, and even more so on the power-play, in which he has three power-play points. He and the rest of his teammates have looked very hungry on the power play.

Jones is someone who has expressed frustration throughout his Blackhawks tenure with wanting more out of himself. Before the season, he mentioned things like working on his shot, changing his stick flex, and just wanting to improve in general. He has been the Blackhawks’ top defenseman since arriving in 2021, but it has come with bumps along the way.

But something looks different than before. Maybe it’s the chemistry factor as he has played well with Alec Martinez and Alex Vlasic. Maybe the frustration he expressed in preseason and him wanting to stop the same mistake pattern boiled over in a positive way, or maybe he is just having fun playing the game. Whatever it is, it’s working.

Jones has been asked to wear many hats on the Blackhawks, and obviously his contract reflects that as well. By anchoring special teams and helping on offense and defense and carrying the most ice time, but it never seemed to come together for him at the same time. It seemed to go more in spurts where one facet of his game stood out more than another, but this is probably the most complete I have seen him look.

The Blackhawks currently have a 2-3-1 record, with their power-play and penalty kill both ranked sixth, and if they want to keep pushing the envelope for better results, Jones, as always, will play a big part in that.

Again, it is hard to make concrete assumptions based off of six games, but Jones is due for a big season, and based on what we have seen from him and the Blackhawks so far, I think he could have more in store for the rest of the season.

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