Is Seth Jones Unhappy? Remembering ‘Youngblood,’ Sabers Honor Jeanneret, and Other Blackhawks Bullets

Jump to some interesting comments from the defenseman Seth Jones in a piece from Ben Pope on Chicago Sun-Times on Saturday. He talked about making some changes to his stick (he could play 90 this season), but his thoughts on the Blackhawks allowing his younger brother, Caleb, to walk in free agency and the turnover on the blue line that caught my attention.

“[Caleb has] a real chance at playoff hockey, which is what everyone wants.” Okay…

Pope mentioned that Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson called Seth completion made the decision to let Caleb go, not before. “Chicago just wants to go a different way and play with some of the young defenses we have.”

Regarding the youth movement on the Blackhawks blue line, Seth said in part: “It’s going to be a bright future for the Hawks. And hopefully it won’t take long – I’m old. It’s nothing you can force, obviously. You have to let the players develop. Wherever that takes the organization, that’s where it takes us.”

Remember, Seth is just entering the second year of his eight-year contract. He was right that he was getting old; he will turn 29 on October 3, before the start of his 12th NHL season. Seth appeared in 730 regular-season games in his career… but only 37 total playoff games — none of which came in the last three seasons.

Is he a happy Blackhawk now? I don’t know. He has a $12.5 million reason to be happy this season (in real dollars, not a cap hit) but, after three years without the playoffs after believing he signed a long-term deal with a Blackhawks team that will make a run for it. back in the playoffs season, rebuilding is difficult for many veterans. It’s worth noting that Seth shares an agent with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. Is Seth there to help build the team back or does he want a clearer path to the playoffs? That will be something to watch in the coming years.

  • This is a fun one from Matt Larkin of the Daily Faceoff that looks at NHL players on the big (and small) screens. He was a glaring loss for Blackhawks fans, though. Long time Blackhawks ahead Eric Nesterenko played the role of Blane Youngblood, father of Rob Lowe’s Dean in the movie “Youngblood” in 1986. He has an IMDB page to prove it! Oh, and when I clicked on the movie page I remembered that Keanu Reeves was in the movie too. Good times.

  • College programs are back on the ice. We got a Landon Slaggert watching from South Bend on Saturday. I’m sure they’ve spent hours at practice watching the football team destroy the Irish Navy.

  • The Buffalo Sabers will celebrate the life of Rick Jeanneret tonight. He has been the voice of the Sabers for generations, so this should be a special night to remember a wonderful man who brought hockey to so many people.

  • Finally, a former first-round pick made his big league debut last night. I know most people here are waiting for that to happen to Connor Bedard, but last night Cubs fans were treated to an amazing first Major League outing from Jordan Wicks. The 2021 first-round pick gave up a home run to the Pirates’ leadoff man and then settled in for a dominant performance.

    • Enjoy Jordan Wicks’ Incredible Debut: Results, Historical Context, Quotes, More