Understandably, the day after a terrible game means there’s even more conversation about subjects of import and the whole Seth Jones conversation kept going all day yesterday. It wasn’t new, and it likely won’t stop. To his credit, Jones faced the music after practice yesterday and answered questions. He labeled the short-handed goal situation a “boneheaded play” and said he does need to be better, and understands fans booing him because he has a big salary.
Great. Neat. Now show it on the ice like you did against Colorado.
- On that subject, one thing that keeps coming up is buying out Jones’ contract this summer. I don’t see it happening. Again: he’s a better defenseman than fans here give him credit — he’s very good when he wants to be. If the Blackhawks are motivated to move him and they find a partner he’ll go to (remember: he has a NMC), they’ll pursue that route. For the sake of the conversation, here’s the breakdown of a Jones buyout (from CapWages):
- Is the cap hit in the second five-year half of the buyout period a deal breaker? Right now, no. But if the Blackhawks want to win again and become a cap ceiling team before Connor Bedard turns 30? (Because he would be 30 when the buyout ends…) They might want/need that $1,066,667.
- The second thing that I’m going to continue preaching here is the reminder that fans need patience with the Blackhawks’ rebuild. After getting some comments on the book of Faces and the artist formerly known as Twitter about just rolling the kids up to the NHL, I shared a few thoughts on the Twitters last night. Reminders that even Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook and Niklas Hjalmarsson played (at least) two years somewhere before moving up to the NHL, and they’re the best generation of the blue line in Blackhawks history (yes, I mean that… different discussion for a different day but they are).
- Alex Vlasic and Wyatt Kaiser played three years of NCAA hockey and most of one in Rockford before getting full-time NHL gigs. Nolan Allan played two more years in the WHL and a full season in Rockford before he became an NHL regular. We — fans — should be more than able and willing to afford the same timeline to other prospects like Artyom Levshunov (first-year pro, 19), Kevin Korchinski (second-year pro, 20), Sam Rinzel (overage NCAA sophomore, 20) and others who might come along (cough, Matthew Schaefer, cough).
- I say this because if the Blackhawks were to simply dump Jones in an empty trade (see: Trouba, Jacob) or buy him out this summer, they would need to fill a role somehow. Which is one more thing that makes the job of general manager Kyle Davidson hard. The reinforcements are coming… but they aren’t here yet and they shouldn’t be rushed.
- Speaking of Vlasic, he was on the CHGO show yesterday and shared some insight into breaking into the league with two future Hall of Famers and franchise icons on the roster. This supports the thought process of the front office to want the next generation to establish their own approach without that shadow in the room. And yet… a little part of me wishes there was still the whole fear of God to perform with some areas of the roster.
- I know I’ll get blasted for preaching patience again, but it’s reality. And the good news is the Blackhawks are now in a place — meaning today, Jan. 15 — where they can start bringing up young horses to start moving the direction of the ship. This isn’t two years ago or last year where the kids were all still teenagers who needed more time. Frank Nazar and Colton Dach are already up and contributing. Landon Slaggert is probably ready. Cole Guttman has probably earned another look. And Samuel Savoie isn’t far behind. Throw in Korchinski and Ethan Del Mastro at some point and we’re moving from long-game patience to incremental waiting for the waves to hit the shore… which is much, much better.
- I took note of something captain Nick Foligno specifically called out after the game on Monday night and Ben Pope shared the quote on Twitter. In the midst of his frustration and “don’t wanna say this dumb shit over and over again” exhaustion, he noted a moment where Nolan Allan pinched and got caught and Bedard laid out to block a shot while covering for him. The contrast between that effort while chasing three goals and Jones’ on the short-handed goal are… something.
- The Blackhawks were 8-16-2 (.346 point percentage) when Luke Richardson got fired on Dec. 5. Since then, they’re now 6-12-0 (.333 point percentage). Interim head coach Anders Sorensen was asked a couple times this week about the lack of progress or improvement in his systems. He’s as frustrated as the players. Good read on that from Ben Pope here.
- The NCHC shared a graphic displaying the top goal scorers in the conference entering this week. You know what’s nice? Seeing three Blackhawks prospects — Aidan Thompson, Dominic James and Sacha Boisvert — included.
- Craig Button at TSN released his personal, updated prospect rankings for the 2025 NHL Draft yesterday. As always, Button has a unique take on the prospects.
- NHL Central Scouting released their mid-term rankings yesterday as well. Scott Wheeler and Corey Pronman wrote some thoughts on players who have moved up and down since the preseason. Good read.
- Nice shoutout here for Oliver Moore.
- This absolutely sucks and it’s scary. Evgeni Malkin’s house was robbed and his Stanley Cup rings are missing.
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