How Seth Jones Fits In with the Florida Panthers. Hint: Very Well

SUNRISE — Word had been out for some time that the Florida Panthers had interest in trading for defenseman Seth Jones.

That said, a deal coming together six days before the NHL Trade Deadline did come as a surprise.

Especially in the way it went down — and with who was going the other way.

The Panthers ended up trading Spencer Knight, their goalie-in-waiting, to the Chicago Blackhawks plus a first-round pick in either 2026 or 2027 for Jones and a fourth-round pick in this year’s draft.

For Florida to be able to pull off a deal of this magnitude in the middle of a season was shocking enough; to do so without putting Matthew Tkachuk on LTIR (for now) as well as giving up a prized member of their organization like Knight gave the trade that jaw-dropping value.

Knight making $4.5 million per season through next year — plus Chicago retaining $2.5 million of Jones’ salary for the next five seasons — makes the money work immediately.

How does Jones fit in with the Panthers?

Pretty damned good, actually.