Blackhawks Can Still Retain Salary In A Seth Jones Trade

The Chicago Blackhawks were the facilitating team in the blockbuster trade that took place between the Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche on Friday night. This could go down as one of the most consequential trades in NHL history.

The Blackhawks traded Taylor Hall to the Carolina Hurricanes. The Colorado Avalanche also sent Mikko Rantanen to Carolina. Marty Necas, Jack Drury, and picks went back to Colorado.

The Blackhawks took on 50 percent of Rantanen’s $9.25 million salary to make this trade work. They didn’t retain on Hall's $6 million though so they are saving a little bit of money by making this deal. They can weaponize that extra cap space ahead of the deadline if they want.

Not retaining on Hall’s contract is a win for the Hawks. They now only have retention on Rantanen and Jake McCabe who they traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2022. It is collectively bargained that each team can only retain up to three players.

Not having Hall on that list means that they can still make one more retention before the trade deadline if they want. Now they could still move on from Seth Jones if they choose.

Jones has multiple years left on his deal, with a $9.5 million cap hit. Unfortunately for Jones, his play has made that cap hit more of an albatross than a bargain. As a result, the team would love to move on.

Jones has been up and down but he isn’t elite which is what that cap hit suggests. A contender could plug him into their third or fourth defense spot which could mask some of his issues on the ice. For half that salary, it would be worth it for a guy that can play 25 minutes a night.

It isn’t a guarantee at this point but by avoiding retaining salary for both Hall and Rantanen, they made it so that they don’t have to wait until summertime to move on from Jones if a good deal pops up.

If they did retain on Jones, it would be through 2029, but they shouldn’t have a problem with that based on the team's current state. McCabe and Rantanen’s retention comes off the books at this season’s end.

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