Look out for a revenge tour coming this fall at Nationwide Arena, featuring Seth Jones.
One year removed from a fourth-place earning in the Norris Trophy ballet, Jones found himself in ninth-place for the 2018-2019 season. This likely didn't sit all too well for the 24-year-old who is already one of the best players in Columbus Blue Jackets history.
Jones wasn't his usual self statistically this past season, but his leadership on the ice and in the locker room paid big dividends for a team surrounded by drama for nearly a calendar year with impending free agency decisions by it's biggest stars.
Jones' Year
| GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PS | PIM | SH | GWG | TOI | CF% | oZS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 75 | 9 | 37 | 46 | 1 | 7.5 | 28 | 184 | 4 | 25:49 | 51.8 | 52.8 |
In a season that started off with a preseason injury, Jones still managed to rebound for the second-best statistical season of his career. However, his points per game dropped from 0.73 in 2017-2018 to 0.61 this past year.
Jones' year was spent with a few different defensive partners, potentially contributing to his somewhat inconsistent statistical year. He found himself typically playing with Zach Wernenski, but also was paired with Ryan Murray for a stretch of the early season when Murray was healthy.
By the time the playoffs rolled around, though, Jones showed everyone why his name has been thrown around in the conversation for one of the best defenseman in the league.
In ten playoff games, Jones recorded nine points, and only trailed Matt Duchene and Artemi Panarin in scoring. He also put up 29 blocked shots and 28 hits while averaging 28:31 of ice time per game, the most on the club.
His game-winning goal in Game 1 of the Tampa Bay Lightning Round 1 series was a gut punch that sent the Blue Jackets on their way to pulling off one of (if not, the) greatest series upsets in NHL playoff history.
Highlight of the Campaign
Outlook
Seth Jones, despite his lowly Norris Trophy voting, is one of the best defensemen in the world, and he's just barely scratched his mid-20's. Yeesh.
Jones will look to quarterback one of the best defensive units to date for the Blue Jackets, who will potentially lose no one from the blue line this offseason. The fact that we have to debate if the sixth defenseman in the lineup will be Vladislav Gavrikov, Dean Kukan, Scott Harrington or Adam Clendening is a pretty nice spot to be in.
Look for Jones to have a monster season offensively and put himself in contention for a Norris Trophy bid. Certainly, Jones won't sell team success for personal achievement, but his budding stardom in itself might finally carry himself over the top for national recognition of his talent.
Grade A-
