2025 Stanley Cup Champions
Seth Jones: Winning Stanley Cup Makes it ‘All Worth It’
SUNRISE — When Seth Jones joined the Panthers in March, having the chance to make a deep run in the playoffs was something that truly excited him.
Jones, after all, had not been to the playoffs since he was traded to the Blackhawks from Columbus in 2021.
“When you look at the standard in the NHL,’’ Jones said, “this is it.’’
Before this postseason with the Panthers, Jones had only been to the second round of the postseason.
This postseason, well, he went a little farther than that.
“I don’t even know what to say,’’ Jones said as he stood in a corner of the ice after Florida’s Game 6 win against the Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final, surrounded by family. “It hasn’t quite hit me yet.’’
Jones, 30, ended up being exactly the player the Panthers hoped he would be when they sent Spencer Knight and a first-round draft pick to the Blackhawks for Jones.
Chicago retained over $12 million of Jones’ contract — the largest retention in NHL history — allowing the Panthers to fit him under last season’s salary cap but also carry a $7 million hit for the next five.
The Panthers had hoped to ease Jones into their system by playing him on the second pair with Niko Mikkola but two games into his Florida tenure, Aaron Ekblad was suspended 20 games and Jones got a crash course with the Panthers.
There were some rough patches but Jones got more accustomed to things as the regular season closed — and he became a big part of the Stanley Cup championship.
In 23 playoff games with the Panthers, Seth Jones had nine points off four goals and was a plus-11.
Jones also led the Panthers in ice time during the postseason.
“He was great,’’ Anton Lundell. “He scored some huge goals, but at the same time he was great defensively as well. Just overall a great guy in the locker room.”
Winning the Stanley Cup is something Jones had been trying to achieve since he was the fourth overall pick of the 2013 NHL Draft in Newark.
The Panthers were thought to be taking Jones second overall that year, but needed an NHL-ready center and took Sasha Barkov instead.
Now, the two are Stanley Cup champions together.
“We did it with an unbelievable group of guys here,’’ Jones said. “The first day I got here, I knew it was special. You can feel it in the locker room, throughout the organization. Everyone loves each other. It’s just an unbelievable group.
“Then, these are moments you dream about. Moments we all worked so hard to. And they do not happen often.”
Jones may also get to play for Olympic gold next winter.
NHL.com has Jones as one of the eight defensemen for Team USA in 2026.
Not bad.
His father Popeye Jones is a former NBA standout and current assistant coach with the Denver Nuggets.
Popeye Jones won the NBA Finals when the Nuggets beat the Heat in 2023; the two are now the first father-son duo to win the NBA and NHL championship.
Seth Jones was the third player on the Panthers to hoist the Cup after Barkov first handed it to Nate Schmidt.
Was it as heavy as he thought it would be?
“It was lighter,’’ Jones said. “When you’re so amped up from the adrenaline, you lift it, then carry it and all the fans are going nuts. You want to hold it forever. You get your lap with it, you kiss it, and it’s such a great feeling. All the hard work you put in, day in and day out, the workouts, the practices, training camps, and everything else.
“It all comes together, and it is all worth it.’’
2024 STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS 2025
FLORIDA PANTHERS
UP NEXT
- NHL Free Agency: Opened Tuesday
- Panthers Rookie Camp, Fort Lauderdale IcePlex: Early September
- Prospect Showcase @ Tampa Bay Lightning: Early September, Wesley Chapel
- Training Camp: Mid-September
- Exhibition Games: Starts Sept. 21 @ Nashville (doubleheader)
- Opening Night: Oct 7-9 (opponent, time, date TBA)
