The Chicago Blackhawks landed defenseman Seth Jones in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday.
Columbus acquired defenseman Adam Boqvist and three draft picks from Chicago: the Blackhawks’ No. 12 overall selection in Friday night’s draft, plus a 2021 second-round pick and a 2022 first-rounder.
In exchange, the Blackhawks also received the No. 32 overall selection from Columbus and a 2022 sixth-rounder.
Jones reportedly will sign an eight-year extension with an average annual value of $9.5 million per year.
Jones, who will turn 27 before the 2021-22 season, is the latest young talent to leave Columbus without interest in staying on a long-term deal, following former Blue Jackets Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky two years ago.
The American right-shot defenseman was the fourth overall draft pick in 2013 by the Nashville Predators. He was traded to Columbus during the 2015-16 season and spent parts of six seasons there.
Jones tallied 223 points (50 goals, 173 assists) in 381 games for the Blue Jackets and was named to the All-Star team in 2017-18. In his eight-year career, Jones has 286 points (65 goals, 221 assists) in 580 games.
Chicago appeared to make room for Jones earlier this month by trading long-time defenseman Duncan Keith to the Edmonton Oilers. In that deal, they acquired Caleb Jones, Seth’s younger brother. The Jones brothers are the sons of former NBA player Popeye Jones.
Boqvist, 20, was the eighth overall choice by Chicago in the 2018 draft. The Swedish blueliner has amassed 29 points (six goals, 23 assists) in 76 career games over two seasons.
In a separate trade Friday evening, the Blue Jackets flipped the 2021 second-round selection from Chicago to the Carolina Hurricanes for defenseman Jake Bean.
Bean, 23, got into two games for Carolina in 2018-19 before cracking the regular lineup during 2020-21. He recorded 12 points (one goal, 11 assists) in 42 games last season.
Related: NHL trade rumors – Latest buzz for 2022 trade deadline day
–Field Level Media