Kyle Davidson Holds All the Cards in Seth Jones Trade Drama

It’s been a week since Seth Jones told us he wants to play for a contender. He wasn’t afraid to negotiate a trade through the press. He’s far from the first player to do so and won’t be the last.  

“I’m 30 years old and still have some good years ahead,” Jones said on Feb. 21. “I hope to be in a situation where I’m competing for a Stanley Cup – playing meaningful games into May and June. That’s where I’m at right now. Discussing things with my agent. There are a lot of moving parts with something like this.”

Not What Seth Jones Signed Up For

When the Blackhawks acquired Jones in the summer of 2021, they were looking to prop open their competitive window. Then general manager Stan Bowman was trying to keep his job when he did a complete 180 from trying to young to going out and acquiring Jones, Marc-Andre Fleury, and Jake McCabe in the same offseason. We all know how that season ultimately went, with a terrible start only compounded by Bowman’s resignation after the Kyle Beach abuse report went public.

Jones thought he was signing with a team that would keep pushing for the postseason. Instead, within less than a year of arriving in town, Kyle Davidson was named the new general manager, and he quickly started to tear it all down.

“I’ve been here the past four years, probably the darkest times the Blackhawks have seen in a while,” Jones said. “I think things are moving up. They are moving forward. But I think my timeline might be different than Kyle’s and the Blackhawks’. I’m not holding it against anyone, what they decided to do here, but sometimes it’s not in everyone’s plans.”

It’s easy to understand where Jones is coming from. NHL players are some of the most competitive people on the planet. Losing every night for four straight years will take its toll on anyone. I don’t fault him for wanting to play elsewhere or even publicizing his wishes. However, contracts are two-way agreements – the team and the player must live up to expectations.

More Pressure Is Applied

Jones put gasoline on the fire with comments after Tuesday’s loss to the Utah Hockey Club.

“We’re the exact same team right now as we were in game one,” he said. “It’s pretty evident out there. We haven’t made any strides to be a better, more simple hockey team, and it shows. We don’t get a lot of wins because of that.”

There was nothing incorrect in any of those scathing comments. But they didn’t sit right with many fans just a few days after saying you want to play for a better team. All these comments did was apply more pressure on Davidson to make a deal. He doesn’t need to break because of it.

There are those within the fan base who would trade Jones for the first offer made. Davidson needs to be very careful with this. While he doesn’t necessarily want a player who wants out in the room, he still has to do what is best for the organization, not Jones. Davidson is still trying to build a competitive team, and nobody in the organization can fill the void Jones would leave. Artyom Levshunov and Sam Rinzel could be that type of defenseman one day, but that is still at least two years away. Whether you like Jones or not, the team would take a giant step backward if he is moved for a few draft picks. You can’t want this team to improve and get rid of Jones simultaneously.

Kyle Davidson Still Holds All the Cards

As soon as Jones revealed he was working on getting out of town, many of the national pundits said a deal could be done before the March 7 trade deadline if the Blackhawks are willing to retain half his remaining salary. Paying half of Jones’ $9.5 million salary to play somewhere else for five seasons makes no sense.

The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus claimed that Davidson has “absolutely no interest” in retaining any of Jones’ salary. This line of thinking is correct, and it’s why getting a deal done before the March 7 trade deadline is unlikely unless a third team jumps in to take on the retention. Davidson needs to set his price; if he doesn’t get it, you move on.

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This will likely carry over into the summer, when finding someone to take on the entire contract will be easier. The salary cap is skyrocketing over the next three years and Jones’ cap hit will not nearly be as crippling as it currently is to many teams. And even then, Davidson needs to stick to his guns. Don’t waver from your asking price. And that asking price should be at least one NHL-ready player, not draft picks. This team has enough picks and prospects. It needs players who can produce now.

This summer will be crucial for Davidson, and catering to Jones is far down on his list of priorities. Instead of finding a better team for the veteran blueliner to play for, he needs to improve his current squad. The Blackhawks will have another top-three pick to decide on. Davidson has to fix this broken roster and bring in some legitimate NHL stars, whether through free agency or a trade. And the most important thing on his to-do list is hiring a new head coach. All these things take priority over an unhappy Jones.

If Davidson can improve the NHL roster with better talent and a real head coach, not just a guy who plays one on TV, Jones may feel that those meaningful games can be played in Chicago. The talent is coming, but the pressure to win at the NHL level is building throughout a disconnected fan base. Trading Jones for table scrabs while retaining half of his salary does not accomplish that. I don’t envy the position Davidson is in, but that was why he was hired. We will find out if he can handle it.