The Chicago Blackhawks are 11 games into the 2024-25 NHL regular season, and so far, it’s gone the way that most expected. With a record of 3-7-1 and seven points, they find themselves at the very bottom of the league standings, with a goal differential of minus-seven and a level of production beyond the top lines that’s left much to be desired.
But there have been bright spots. After a sluggish start, franchise cornerstone Connor Bedard has generated plenty of shots and has a team-leading nine points; Ryan Donato has six goals so far, including a three-point game in the team’s 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Oct. 29, and Lukas Reichel, with four points through seven games, has shown flashes of the skill he previewed during his brief stint with the big club during the 2022-23 campaign.
But it’s the team’s top blueliner in Seth Jones, now in his fourth season with the Blackhawks, who has been among the most impressive for me through October. Let’s take a look at Jones’ hot start to the 2024-25 season.
Jones’ Increased Production
Jones, now entering the third year of an eight-year, $76 million contract extension with a cap hit of $9.5 million, is often the target for ridicule from fans and those who vent their frustrations with the club. If the team is losing, Jones is the lightning rod of criticism, largely because of his contract and the amount of ice time and situations the coaching staff puts him in.
Last season, some of that criticism was justified. We’ll get to production in a second, but Jones all-around play took a dip for chunks of last season, seeing more instances of him losing his man in front of the net, getting beat to the outside, and struggling to keep up with the opposing team’s top lines.
As for his offense, usually his biggest strength, he really struggled. After scoring 12 goals in 2022-23, Jones didn’t record his first goal of 2023-24 until the 31st game of the season … on Jan. 19. Think about that: no goals for the first three months of the season, and you’re not only leading the team in ice time, but quarterback the team’s power play. He would finish 2023-24 with eight goals and 23 assists for 31 points, his lowest point total over the course of a full season since 2015-16.
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This season, it’s a different story. Jones had a goal and two assists in just the third game of the year, a 5-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers, and had a goal and six assists for seven points through the first seven games. Yes, he’s been pointless in the four games since, but now 11 games into the 2024-25 campaign, there’s a conscious effort to having a bigger impact at point ends of the ice.
seth jones:
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 13, 2024
– played in his 800th NHL game tonight
– scored his first goal this season pic.twitter.com/WcQDDZ1dQx
Jones has recorded at least three shots in six of the 11 games, including four games with at least four shots. As of Nov. 1, he’s second on the team in both shots and shot attempts, and his even-strength Corsi of 50 percent is the best since the 2018-19 campaign with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Oct. 31 loss to the San Jose Sharks might have been Jones best game of the season, and he didn’t even record a point, but he did have a mind-boggling 11 shot attempts and 56 percent even-strength Corsi.
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Beyond the scoresheet, there’s a calmness to Jones’ game that’s been missing the last few seasons in Chicago. Taking an extra half-second to make a pass, or firing it high and off the glass to get out of the zone, Jones has looked more comfortable in his own end. Do I still think he’s playing he’s playing way too many minutes every night? Of course. Averaging more than 25 minutes per game, including 27:09 against the Sharks, that’s simply too many minutes for a player who isn’t a blue chip No. 1 defender like Cale Makar or Quinn Hughes or even a slightly-older Victor Hedman.
But perhaps the eventual return of Alec Martinez and the Blackhawks’ coaching staff putting more trust in their other defensemen will lighten Jones’ load and allow him to maximize his talents. Which leads me to my next point…
Unfair Criticism Towards Jones
I made the case last season that Jones reminded me of former Toronto Maple Leafs’ captain Dion Phaneuf. Here’s what I wrote:
In Toronto, he was asked to play nearly 25 minutes a night, every night, taking on the power play, penalty kill, and every type of situation, including the kitchen sink. It became too much, and his play would deteriorate as time went on. That’s what I fear will happen with Jones. There were already signs this past season that he’s taken a step back, and the wear and tear of being a top NHL defenseman is starting to show.
The thing that made Phaneuf great in the first chunk of his career was the Calgary Flames not asking him to be a true No. 1 defender, allowing him to focus on his offensive game and play on the top power-play unit. Throw some big hits, play adequately in his own end, shoot rockets from the point and rack up the points. That’s when Phaneuf was at his best, and that’s when Jones has been at his best.
I know, there isn’t much defensive depth on this roster. In fact, there’s almost zero depth on this roster. T.J. Brodie hasn’t taken a step forward from last season’s struggles with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the previously-mentioned Martinez is nearly 40 and oft-injured. Alex Vlasic is a very promising young talent, but beyond him, it’s hard to justify any other defender playing more than 20 minutes per night, meaning Head Coach Luke Richardson is left with little choice but to play Jones as much as possible.
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But not only is that a long-term mistake, but it’s unfair to Jones. We’re 11 games in and this Blackhawks team is dead freaking last in the NHL. You can say that they deserve a better fate, that a few of those losses should have gone their way and that they look better than they did last season. Hell, I think they look better, and most who cover the team feel the same way.
But the results and points – or lack thereof – show a team in another rebuilding season with little hopes of finishing the season outside of a lottery spot. So why take Jones, who is likely in the last year or two of what could be argued the “prime” seasons of his career, and run him into the ground?
I don’t know the answers to that, and to be honest, I don’t know if Richardson, or General Manager Kyle Davidson, or the rest of the Blackhawks’ organization knows it. We’ll see how they eventually decide to resolve these issues. For now, I hope fans see that Jones has greatly improved his game from where it was the last two seasons, and that fans should be happy they’re seeing a motivated No. 4 on the blue line.
