Five Great Contracts for the Columbus Blue Jackets
By William Espy
2. Seth Jones
Seth Jones is the future face and captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets. He’s a superstar in the making and he’ll be one of the league’s best defensemen in just a few years. He’s 24 years old, and he’s already been in the league for almost 6 years jumping into the NHL shortly after he was drafted fourth overall in 2013 by the Nashville Predators.
Jones is the definition of an offensive defenseman, and as Drew Doughty proved with his recent contract extension, points mean money even for a defenseman. Seth Jones puts up enough points to be a future Norris Trophy winner for the Columbus Blue Jackets and on top of that, he has a defensive skill set that not many on the team have.
Jones’s contract is currently super team friendly, at a cap hit of only $5.4M through the 2021-2022 season and as a result he’s easily one of the biggest bargains in the league. He’s only going to get better from here, and the deal will only look better the further in the future that we get.
Trading Ryan Johansen for Seth Jones was a move that put the Blue Jackets years forward in terms of their development as a whole, but specifically on the blue line. It took one of the worst defensive corps in the NHL and made it one of the best almost over night. Adding Zach Werenski and Markus Nutivaara were just a bonus that made one of the best blue lines in the NHL.