Jones tired of Blackhawks losing ways, says team hasn’t improved all season

The Chicago Blackhawks dropped their fourth straight game Tuesday night and continue to toil at the bottom of the league, sitting last in the Central Division and 31st in the overall standings.

All the losing is appearing to get to veteran defenceman Seth Jones, who said after the 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Utah Hockey Club that he hasn’t seen any improvement from his team all season.

"I think we’re the exact same team right now as we were in Game 1. It’s pretty evident out there. We haven’t made any strides to be a better, more simple hockey team, and it shows. We don't get a lot of wins because of that,” he told reporters.

"This has been almost four years of (being at the) bottom of the league, so it's not just this year, for me at least."

Jones scored Chicago’s only goal Tuesday night with the Blackhawks being dominated in shots (36-22), face-offs won (40-25) and penalty minutes (12-6). Jones pointed directly to the penalties as being a major factor in another loss for the Blackhawks.

"It puts a ton of pressure on Sody (goalie Arvid Soderblom), it just kills momentum. If you have one or two good shifts in a row and then you take a penalty - three in the first, two in the second...10 minutes is a long time on the kill, you don't get the flow of the guys offensively, now guys have to sit, and it's tough to get anything going,” he said.

Soderblom was one of the only bright spots for Chicago as he stopped 34 of 36 shots.

“Definitely staying out of the box is key. But I’ll say it again, (Soderblom) was unbelievable. We have zero chance of winning if he doesn’t stand on his head,” Jones said.

Jones signed an eight-year, $76 million deal in the Windy City ahead of the 2021-22 season but his club hasn’t sniffed the postseason at any time during that span, placing either last or second last in the Central Division in each of Jones’ first three seasons. They’re trending that way again in 2024-25 as the Blackhawks sit six points shy of the seventh-place Nashville Predators with one game in hand.

TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston mentioned Jones as a potential trade candidate on Tuesday night’s edition of Insider Trading, reporting the veteran blueliner would likely waive his no-movement clause to play for the Dallas Stars, who would need the Blackhawks to retain salary.

"Well there’s all kinds of reasons to connect the player and the team," Johnston explained. "I mean, for starters, Seth Jones would love to play in Dallas, it’s a place he spent some of his childhood. He has a no movement clause and the Stars, historically, had interest in Jones.

"In fact they might have traded for him back in 2021 when he went to Chicago except for an important fact – they weren’t going to give him the kind of contract he signed. Which is a $9.5 million long-term deal. And I think ultimately whether this happens or not comes down to can Chicago eat enough of the contract to get that number lower. Because certainly it’s not appealing to Dallas now if it wasn’t back then. And what do they want back? It sounds as though Chicago wants players back, this isn’t just a futures deal. And the Stars like their team, they’re in position to try and challenge.

"So that’s a lot of puzzle pieces to tray and fit together. But I do think that there is a reason to at least connect them from a high level."

The native of nearby Arlington, Texas has seven goals and 20 assists for 27 points in 41 games this season for Chicago.