Seth Jones went on IR at the end of October, at which point the Blackhawks were 4-3-1. The Blackhawks are 2-6-2 since he left the lineup and have slumped back to the bottom ten in the league (read: top ten in the draft lottery).
And the Blackhawks’ need to have Seth in the lineup has been made painfully clear with other defensemen struggling to step into the void left by one of the biggest minutes-eating players in the league. His brother, Caleb, has been noticeably uncomfortably in a bigger role since Seth left the room.
That should all change on Wednesday, when it appears Seth will be with the Blackhawks in Dallas, his hometown.
Seth Jones said he’s planning to play tomorrow in Dallas. He’s missed the last 10 games with a right thumb injury. #Blackhawks
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) November 22, 2022
Before the Blackhawks went to Boston to end last week, head coach Luke Richardson told the media his thumb wasn’t quite there yet, and they planned on doing more x-rays in 10-14 days. Apparently the motivation to play in Dallas was enough to throw that plan out the window.
Jones told the media after practice that he’ll have to wear a splint on the thumb that’s restrictive for a couple weeks, but “it is what it is.”
The Blackhawks currently have eight defensemen on their NHL roster, including Ian Mitchell and Filip Roos (who were skating as a fourth pair in practice on Tuesday).
Seth Jones is a maybe for tomorrow’s game vs Dallas. Even though sitting out sucks, Seth got to do some cool things to kill time. Like get an invitation for Hossa’s picture from Marian himself. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/AuePxxNxhv— Joe Brand (@Joe_Brand1) November 22, 2022
