ESPN analyst gives bold prediction about the future of Blackhawks Seth Jones
NHL ESPN analyst Greg Wyshynski made a bold prediction about the future Blackhawks defenseman Seth Jones as he released his yearly 32 predictions prior to the new season.
Wyshynski feels Jones will be traded this season as the Blackhawks looked to
continue to reshape their lineup into their vision of today. He has several reasons why he feels this will happen including the fact that there are hardly any 29-year-old potentially available defenseman who can play between 23 and 25 minutes a game.
He also states that Jones's contract is looking less like an albatross as the salary cap in the NHL is poised to go up every season going forward which will make his contract less expensive in terms of cap space and dollars. Contending teams would certainly like to add a player like Jones provided that his play remains high which has been questioned for the past several years.
Several questions were brought into light if a trade were to occur. One question would be is Seth Jones interested in remaining with the Blackhawks for the remainder of his contract or would he like to go to a new team? The Blackhawks have been focusing heavily on defence in their drafting and have several players available that could become stars on their blue line.
Jones holds a cap hit of $9.5 million per year and it will be for the next 4 years great this begs the question of how much money will the Blackhawks need to retain to make a deal worth making. Even though the cap is going up, the Blackhawks would likely not want to retain as much salary as possible as they have several young players up and coming including Connor Bedard who will need a new contract which will likely be a very rich one.
Cap flexibility is essential in the NHL and that's what the Blackhawks have currently. He would also have to be broached about his no move clause which is in place for the entire four years that's remaining.
The remaining question reflects around the depth of the Blackhawks defence. Does general manager Kyle Davidson feel he has enough depth that can carry the Blackhawks with their youthful defenseman while trading veteran defensemen away? That question is hard to answer as it may take years for a defenseman to mature.
In the long run, Davidson will do what's necessary to make the Blackhawks better and if that means trading Jones to relieve cap space and acquire more talent than that may be the case but for now any trade talk would have to go through Jones himself.
Source: BleacherNation.com
Surprisingly Bold Blackhawks Prediction From ESPN Analyst
