The Chicago Blackhawks have announced that veteran defenseman Seth Jones will not play Tuesday against the Edmonton Oilers. Jones suffered an upper-body injury and is being evaluated by the team.
The Blackhawks are currently enduring a stretch of key players constantly getting injured. Right now, Jones, Taylor Hall, Andreas Athanasiou, Jarred Tinordi, and Colin Blackwell are all sidelined with injuries.
Jones appeared to injure his shoulder after getting hit by Washington Capitals’ forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel during the Sunday evening game between the two teams. Late in the third period, the play was in the Blackhawks zone and Jones put himself in an awkward position as he lunged for a loose puck. Aube-Kubel checked him with a clean hit and that was likely the cause of Jones’ injury.
This year, Jones has taken on a veteran role for the young Blackhawks and has scored 11 points in 27 games. He also took 60 shots on net but hasn’t scored any goals yet. He is in the second year of an eight-year, $76 million contract he signed with the Blackhawks that will keep him on the team through the 2029-30 season. Last season, he put up 12 goals and 37 points, ultimately finishing tied for second on the team in scoring among players who spent the entire season there.
This year, the Blackhawks have a bit more scoring upfront with Connor Bedard stealing the show and Philipp Kurashev, Nick Foligno, Jason Dickinson, and Ryan Donato providing decent secondary scoring. The team currently sits last place in the Central Division and tied for last place in the entire NHL with the San Jose Sharks. This year is all about developing the younger players, especially Bedard, and Jones has done a good job of insulating him from the rest of the league.
It is unknown at this time when Jones will be back in the Blackawks’ lineup.
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