Is Seth Jones the 2nd highest paid defenseman?

Much fanfare has surrounded the selection and the overall rebuilding process that General Manager Kyle Davidson has undertaken for the team. He brought in veteran players like Taylor Hall, Nick Foligno, and Corey Perry to mentor the young players and instill the Chicago Blackhawks' style of play.

While the Blackhawks have been removing as much salary as possible, there is one salary in particular that sticks out like a sore thumb - Seth Jones, their top defenseman, who holds a cap hit of $9.5 million AAV. This contract extension kicks in this season and will make him the fourth-highest-paid player in terms of cap hit in the NHL.

During my research, According to Sportrac, I discovered that Jones will be the second-highest-paid NHL defenseman in terms of cash, with a cash value of $12.5 million for this season. Considering how he has performed over the past number of years, this is mind-boggling.

Even if Jones had a banner year this year, I don't believe it would warrant the amount of money he is being paid. The 28-year-old defenseman, standing at six-foot-four and 204 pounds, played 71 games, scored twelve goals, and assisted 25 times, amounting to a total of 37 points. However, he had a minus 38 plus/minus rating and accrued 30 penalty minutes.

Given the poor defence core and goaltending, a defenseman making $9.5 million AAV and $12.5 million in cash this year should have much better numbers.

Time will tell whether he will live up to this deal or if it will be a complete flop.