Jones thrilled to reach Stanley Cup Final for 1st time with Panthers

EDMONTON -- Seth Jones had a smile on his face as he started his media session on Tuesday. For the first time in his 12-season NHL career, the Florida Panthers defenseman gets to play hockey in June.

“It feels good,” Jones said at Stanley Cup Final media day. “I think just trying to take it all in, take in the moment, not get too far ahead of myself and think about a lot of other things I could be thinking about. Hanging out with my teammates tonight and just enjoy the situation I’m in and try to make the most of it.”

It gets real for Jones when the Panthers play the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of the best-of-7 Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place here on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, TNT, truTV, MAX).

It’s the third consecutive season the Panthers have advanced to the Cup Final, and the second straight season they’re facing the Oilers for the Cup.

But this is new territory for Jones, whom the Panthers acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks in a trade on March 1, six days before the NHL Trade Deadline. Before this season, Jones had won a Stanley Cup Playoff series twice, both with the Columbus Blue Jackets: when they defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference First Round in 2019, and when they defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers in 2020.

To be on this stage with the Panthers, who won the first Cup championship in their history last season, is special.

“The first day I came in, talking to (Panthers coach) Paul (Maurice) and walking around the room on a practice day, you could feel something was different,” he said. “Everyone understands their task every day, has a goal every day and everyone’s really working toward something bigger than just the regular season or an individual game or a goal or a point or something like that. Being in the Final the last two years, they understood what it took to get back here and what it takes to win. Just walking around, it’s just special being in that room and being in that environment.”

The No. 4 pick by the Nashville Predators in the 2013 NHL Draft, Jones has 441 points (99 goals, 342 assists) in 860 regular-season games with the Predators, Blue Jackets, Blackhawks and Panthers. He has 31 points (eight goals, 23 assists) in 54 career playoff games. Seven of those points (three goals, four assists) have come in 17 postseason games with Florida.

“He’s been unreal,” Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling said. “He’s so good moving the puck and he’s a good skater. Obviously on our power play he’s a big key, but defensively he’s good. He’s got a big frame (6-foot-4, 213 pounds) and good stick and he’s been awesome for us.”

Going to Florida was quite the move for Jones, who in February told The Athletic that he was open to waiving his no-movement clause to have a chance to play more competitive hockey.

When the Blackhawks acquired Jones from the Blue Jackets on July 23, 2021, he was supposed to be part of an expedited rebuild that included fellow acquisitions goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, forward Tyler Johnson and defenseman Jake McCabe. But the Blackhawks struggled that season and have remained in rebuilding mode.

Jones averaged a team-high 24:30 of ice time per game for the Blackhawks this season and was also trying to help their young defenseman group.

“I don’t want to speak too much on Chicago because it was just a different situation,” said Jones, 30. “They put development first and there’s nothing wrong with that. But being in four years of that as an older guy is tough. It weighs a lot on you, I was losing my hair for a bit there. Listen, I wasn’t playing the greatest hockey, either. I’d be the first to admit that. But I’m happy this change came, and I feel like I found a little bit of new life.”

Panthers defenseman Nate Schmidt said he talked with Jones about getting back to his own game when Jones first came to Florida.

“I said, ‘Hey, listen, this team’s a little bit different,’” Schmidt said. “‘When you get here, just do your job. This team is a pretty well-rounded machine right now. Just get yourself in here, you’ll jump right on board. Just don’t think about it.’ I thought he’s done a really good job with it. It’s not an easy thing to jump onto this team mid-year or late in the season and try to be an important cog to the wheel.

“He’s been great for us the entire playoffs. Even in the first round of the playoffs, he was still getting himself used to our system, how we do things. You can just see how much more comfortable he’s been. With him playing his best it really makes for a tough matchup. Whoever he’s out against, him and (defense partner Niko) Mikkola (6-6, 204) are huge and rangy. They can skate. They’ve been playing well. So, I’ve really enjoyed watching him settling back into his game here with us.”

Jones has enjoyed it too. He’s had some tough seasons, be it with team results or his individual play, but he’s found a niche with the Panthers and is hoping to win his first Stanley Cup championship.

“Definitely revitalized,” Jones said. “Winning cures all at the end of the day. This team just understands how to win. They understand their system, they understand what they need to do to be successful. It’s not going to be perfect; it never is, but we want to give ourselves a chance to win every night and I think we understand how to do that.”