Florida Panthers
Seth Jones Ready to Win with the Florida Panthers
FORT LAUDERDALE — Seth Jones has only been to the playoffs five times in his previous 12 seasons, but he expects to get many more kicks at the postseason with the Florida Panthers.
Jones has not been to the playoffs since he was traded to the Blackhawks from Columbus in 2021, and he grew disenchanted with how things were going in Chicago.
And, now he is with the Panthers.
“When you look at the standard in the NHL,’’ Jones said, “this is it.’’
The defending Stanley Cup champions needed a player like Jones to solidify their defense, and, Seth Jones needed to play for a team like the Panthers.
“I am happy to be here, and obviously I wanted to play for a contender,’’ Jones said on Monday morning at the IcePlex after being introduced to the South Florida media by GM Bill Zito.
“Florida was at the top of my list when it came to that. I want to fit in with this team. … I’ll bring whatever I can, do whatever is asked of me. I want to play playoff hockey, and this is the No. 1 destination for me to do that with the style of play, culture, coach.’’
Zito pulled off one of the biggest deals of this season’s trade cycle, sending Spencer Knight and a first-round pick to the Blackhawks for Jones and a fourth.
The Panthers will play host to the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight, and there was a noticeable uptick in intensity at the morning skate.
All of Florida’s players were on the ice for the workout.
“When you trade for a player like that, a player everyone knows, they’re all on the ice five minutes early,” Paul Maurice said. “There’s that kind of energy, a bump, when you bring a guy in. There’s going to be a learning curve here, we’re going to need the 20 games … he has a skill set, is a big man that moves.”
Said Sasha Barkov: “We know what we want to do, what we want to achieve. Adding players like this is a big, big thing for us. Big from Bill in showing us that he wants to give us all the possible chances to win.”
Zito knows Jones from their time together in Columbus, and, says he has followed his career since the two moved their separate ways.
When Jones publicly made it known he was not happy in Chicago, things moved fast.
“We are thrilled Seth is here,” Zito said. “We have known each other for some time. [His] character, personality, how we think he’ll fit into things factored into the trade. I think he’ll be a great addition to our team.’’
Jones, the fourth-overall pick of the 2013 NHL Draft of which Barkov was taken second, is a high-end defenseman who, at least in Chicago, was asked to carry a very heavy load.
In Florida, he is one of a number of very good players and will not have to shoulder all the burden as was the case in Chicago.
On Monday, Jones was on Florida’s second defensive pairing with Niko Mikkola, and he was on the second power play.
“He comes into the room and it’s not all on him,’’ Maurice said. “If your losing a bunch of games and you’re carrying it all, it can weigh on you. He’s just one of the players in the room now. He can just go in, do his job. Get back to playing, just playing.’’
The Panthers hope by spreading things out, Seth Jones can play his style a lot more easily.
“It has been a tough three, four years there in Chicago,” Jones said. “It was not envisioined when I signed there as a free agent a few years ago. When it came to my game, I was just putting too much on myself, trying to do it all. It was hard mentally day-to-day. Here, I can just focus on hockey. I trust all my players around me, so we can just win.”
ON DECK: GAME No. 62
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING AT FLORIDA PANTHERS
- When: Monday, 7 p.m.
- Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
- Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FtL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (SWFla)
- Streaming: Panthers+, ESPN+
- Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
- Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
- Season Series (Lightning Lead 1-0) — At Tampa Bay: Sunday; Ap. 15. At Florida: Lightning 4, Panthers 0 (Dec. 23); Monday.
- Last Regular Season: Panthers Won 2-1
- All-time Regular Season Series: Florida leads 77-52-19, 10 ties
- All-Time Postgame Series: Lightning Leads 2-1 (won 2021 first-round, 2022 ECS); Florida d. Lightning 4-1 in 2024 first-round.
- Up Next for the Panthers: Thursday vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, 7 p.m.
