Number:3
Age: 26
Birth date:Oct. 3, 1994
Birthplace: Arlington, Texas
Height, weight:6-4, 209
Stats: 56 GP, 6-24-30, 6.5 point shares, 51.24 xGF% at 5-on-5 per Natural Stat Trick
Contract:Signed through 2020-21 season (Two years remaining before UFA status)
Perhaps the most interesting thing about Seth Jones' season was that it took the Blue Jackets' All-Star defenseman to leave the ice to prove how valuable he really was.
Of course, Jones' reputation around the NHL is sterling, as the two-way blueliner has finished in the top 20 of the Norris Trophy voting each of his four full seasons in Columbus, topping out at fourth in 2017-18. In the NHL Network's recent rating of the top defensemen in the league, Jones placed fifth in the network's expert rankings.
Yet he's at times been a target of the analytics community for numbers that don't quite match his reputation as one of the best defensive players in the league. It's an interesting debate for perhaps another time, but it is also fair to say for anyone who doubts his value to see how the Blue Jackets performed after he suffered a broken ankle late in a February game.
Jones was certainly conspicuous in his absence, as the Blue Jackets missed his ability to play in all situations, defuse opposing attacks and get the puck up the ice quickly. It showed in the stats, too, as in the 27 games before Jones was injured crashing into the net against Colorado, Columbus allowed a total of 46 goals (1.70 per game). In the 14 games immediately following his injury leading up to the coronavirus pause, the Blue Jackets ceded 50 goals (3.57).
That's how good Jones is and just how important he is to the Blue Jackets as well.
Entering the season:As it is with Jones going into pretty much any season, the biggest question was, would this be the season someone long thought to be one of the top defensemen in the league finally win the Norris Trophy as the best defenseman in the league? That's an awfully high expectation but Jones' ability puts him in that discussion every year, though the Blue Jackets weren't necessarily expecting him to haul in the trophy as much as they were to continue to lead the blue line while putting up an All-Star worthy performance.
Season recap: It's hard to find a ton of fault with Jones' season, as again he was one of the top defensemen in the league and earned an All-Star bid for the fourth time in his career.
Yet it wasn't always smooth sailing for the CBJ alternate captain, who was very good in the first half of the season but perhaps not great, as he even admitted when he was given his All-Star nod.
"I probably for the most part haven't played my most consistent hockey in the first half of the season, but it's still pretty cool to be there," Jones said in early January. "I kind of had a slow start to the season for me, but I think I've gotten a little more consistent out there the past few weeks in every aspect of the game really."
Added head coach John Tortorella: "He's that good, and I think he can play better. I'm happy that he gets the nod there, but I think we both know, him and I, that I think he can play better. That shows how good he can be."
It did feel as though Jones upped his game to the usual elite level as the season inched on as he continued to play on the top pair with Zach Werenski as well as on the team's power play and penalty kill units.
Offensively, he continued to be a scoring threat much as he has been throughout his CBJ career, finishing with a 6-24-30 line that projects to a 9-35-44 line for an 82-game season. Defensively, while facing the best the NHL had to offer on a regular basis, Jones had a positive share in shot attempts, shots on goal and expected goals, and teams averaged just 2.13 expected goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 when Jones was on the ice.
