Columbus Blue Jackets: Seth Jones Season Expectations 18-19

How high are expectations for he Columbus Blue Jackets top defenseman?

The 2017-2018 season for Seth Jones was absolutely amazing. The Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman scored 16 goals, good for second in the league. He racked up 41 assist for a total for 57 points. Jones helped the Jackets top pair dominate their opponents when on the ice and had an impressive corsi for rate of 54%.

Jones finished this year fourth in Norris Trophy voting which I’ll venture to guess is the lowest he will finish in that voting during the next few seasons. That’s how high expectations are for this NHL star. Jones, who is only 24-years-old, has already joined the ranks of Victor Headman, Drew Doughty and P.K. Subban in my eyes and will be there for the next six to eight years.

This year will be another career year for Jones who will see his average time on ice creep up and over the 25 minute per game mark. He will continue to lead the top power play unit and, with a healthy Zach Werenski on his side, should break the 60 point mark this season.

Seth will likely repeat his All-Star selection again this season and hopefully be able to attend the festivities in San Jose this year. Last year, illness kept Jones from going to Tampa Bay and was replaced by teammate Zach Werenski. Looking back, probably not the best replacement considering Z played the entire year with a torn labrum.

Jones and Werenski will likely be broken up at one point in the future but I don’t see this being the year that happens. The two are simply too dynamic together and dominate the ice when they are out there together. Not a bad thing to have for 25 to 30 minutes a game.

Expectations are as high as they can be for Jones because his talent level is as high as can be. Look for Jones to somehow take his play to the next level and be a finalist for the Norris Trophy at the end of next season.