Blackhawks trade Seth Jones to Panthers

It’s official: the Chicago Blackhawks have traded defenseman Seth Jones and a 2026 fourth-round pick to the Florida Panthers in exchange for a conditional 2026 first-round pick and goaltender Spencer Knight. Additionally, the Blackhawks are retaining $2.5M of Jones’ remaining five years of his deal.

A move likely weeks in the making, Jones added some fuel to the trade fire last week when he made a public statement that he, his agent Pat Brisson, and Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson had been discussing possible trades and expressing his desire to play for a contender.

He got his wish.

Jones heads to the defending Stanley Cup champions to join a defensive group headlined by Aaron Ekblad and Gustav Forsling. Seemingly, Jones slots into that top-four group and won’t be the focal-point of the defensive rotation like he was in Chicago and that should fit him better than having to be the 25+ minutes per night, every situation player.

For the Blackhawks, the trade will remain on everyone’s mind for the next five years as one of three salary retention spots is occupied by Jones’ deal. But the everlasting cloud hanging over the team and the fan base is now no longer a part of the equation for the future of the organization. For those that wanted to trade Jones anywhere for a broken vending machine in return, hopefully a first-round pick and a future starting goaltender will suffice.

Spencer Knight is a former 13th overall pick by the Panthers in the 2019 NHL Draft. It has been rare in recent years to see a goaltender taken that high in NHL drafts, but Knight was that kind of special goaltending prospect. In the six years since, Knight has spent two seasons in the NCAA with Boston College, represented Team USA in two World Junior Championships, and parts of four of the last five seasons in the NHL with the Panthers.

He has had over a .900 save-percentage every season in the AHL and NHL, with a career NHL record of 44-25-7. This season with Florida, Knight has a 12-8-1 record with a .907 save-percentage and a 2.40 GAA as a backup to Sergei Bobrovsky. Knight instantly becomes the future of the goaltending position for the Blackhawks, a weakness within the organization still despite the resurgent season Arvid Söderblom has had and the future outlooks for both Drew Commesso and Adam Gajan.

Also in return, the Blackhawks acquire a conditional 2026 first-round pick from Florida. The condition on the pick is that if the Panthers do not own their own 2026 first-round pick, the pick slides to Florida’s 2027 first-round pick. Florida will own the 2026 pick, on condition, until the 2025-26 season ends. If they make another trade with that 2026 first-round pick, then Chicago will get the 2027 pick from Florida. If not, Chicago gets the 2026 pick. Hope that’s clear.

More on this as the dust settles.

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