Bowman does have at least one brain cell:

From capfriendly

*Conditions: If Chicago wins one of the the 2022 draft lotteries, the pick becomes their 2023 1st round pick

A couple yrs I'll get my answer but I believe today if they drafted Dobson instead of Boqvist they aren't forced into this deal and the natural progression of a proper on the fly rebuild would have been allowed to play itself out. Proper timing.

Instead they get a solid 2-3 Dman with a big hit that costs them the 11th and a 2nd rd pick (a solid prospect in a Sillinger, Lucius or a possible franchise goalie) this yr and probably a top 15 pick next yr that if done correctly they add to the pipeline.

Very well will be the Hawks are better next yr and worse in 2-3-4 yrs than they would have been. ......... Keep the 11th and the 2nd rounder this yr, the 1st rd pick next yr and if you wanna go get a 10-11 mil UFA Dman in 2 yrs that's cool.

I think it has a better chance than not of hurting the squad 3-4-5 yrs out than not and Jones for sure is not the missing piece to a deep playoff run next yr. If he was maybe make this deal. This deal is for the Rados of the world, 1 piece from the cup.

In one sentence someone here said "this isn't what rebuilding clubs do". Indeed.
- Mr Ricochet

This is a job saving move. Rebuild, retool it isn't

The Athletic no longer seems to be too worried about losing access to the team. Maybe since McD has gone it's not as much of a threat.

"Seth Jones was the 532nd-best player in the National Hockey League last season. And the Blackhawks are about to make him the 15th highest-paid player.

Oh, and they gave up their most promising — and established — young defenseman in Adam Boqvist to get him. And moved back 20 draft slots in Friday’s first round. And gave up their first-round pick in next year’s supposedly stacked draft.

All to a Columbus team that had very little leverage, that was selling low on a disgruntled player coming off a terrible season who wanted out, that had few trading partners with the kind of cap space to extend him.

Some rebuild, eh?"

ANd none of those trades matter without Mac, Rantanen, Landy and Makar plus others, Rick.

You make trades to supplement.
- Elbows15

And they got those picks because of consecutively really terrible seasons. Those kind of players arent available at #11.

I too question why the urgency for Jones at this point but I also don't want to see extended years of watching Zadorov, Strome, Carpenter, Hinostroza etc.

ESPN doing a cringe worthy job of covering hockey? Who saw that coming…
- SimpleJack

At least they're showing Jackie Redmond once in a while.

Bowman has officially blown up the rebuild. All for the sake of distraction of the pending law suit

And they got those picks because of consecutively really terrible seasons. Those kind of players arent available at #11.

I too question why the urgency for Jones at this point but I also don't want to see extended years of watching Zadorov, Strome, Carpenter, Hinostroza etc.
- RickJ

This smells of "one more run for Toews and Kane." Their fate is sealed. Both will be gone in 22 or 23. The deal was not so bad, but the contract is an albatross after about 2024 or 25. How do you pay D-cat and Dach?

Looks like there will be a goalie available at.11.

And they got those picks because of consecutively really terrible seasons. Those kind of players arent available at #11.

I too question why the urgency for Jones at this point but I also don't want to see extended years of watching Zadorov, Strome, Carpenter, Hinostroza etc.
- RickJ

Exactly. Now they are just stuck in mediocrity selecting guys exactly like the ones you mentioned

Looks like there will be a goalie available at.11.
- boilermaker100

Thank god for small mercies.

Whelp. there goes the guy I was hoping to be there at 32

Guess I'll be a sadist and read around what the hockey world thinks of the trade. Pronman and Gentile weigh in. Much said here already.

Pronman

Seth Jones is a player that has every NHL asset you want in a defenseman. He’s a big right-shot defenseman who is a great skater for a guy his size, has very good puck skills, and can see the ice at a high level. I don’t view him as a dynamic offensive player, but a player who due to his size/feet/compete combo can make a lot of stops and has a strong enough puck game to be a legit top pair guy. I don’t view him as one of the few elite defensemen in the NHL because of the lack of amazing offense, but he’s in the very next group and becomes one of the most important players in Chicago’s lineup.

Boqvist had another decent season in the NHL, playing around 17 minutes a game with power-play time. Boqvist’s value is with the puck on his stick. He has slick 1v1 skill and fantastic offensive IQ. He makes a lot of great passes and knows how to attack defenses to create chances. The offense hasn’t popped in a huge way yet in the NHL, but he’s still young and it will come. He only scored two goals this season but he has a big wrist shot and has always scored a lot of goals. I see Boqvist as a second-pair defenseman who can be a PP1 type.

I really like Jones, I think he’s an excellent NHL player and will be for a while, but Chicago gave him a lot of money ($9.5 million AAV), term (eight years) and futures to secure him which is the kind of move you make if you’re one or two players away from contending, a position I don’t currently see Chicago in.

When I put together a Jones proposal, I think Philipp Kurashev, Nicolas Beaduin, Lukas Reichel and a first in 2022 would get it done. I would argue Chicago gave up a little more than that in the actual trade so on pure value I don’t hate this deal for them, the timing of it strikes me as odd in terms of team-building timeframe.

Columbus makes the most out of a somewhat self-inflicted position of weakness, getting a fair return for a top player and important components for their next rebuild.

Gentile

Jones is a tough read. Dom’s assessment of him makes perfect sense; he was good for years, a legit No. 1 guy, and then took a tumble this past season. So you’ve got a player who, until 2020-21, had a sterling reputation among Hockey Men that, while not quite lining up with his statistical profile, came close enough to count.

Now, that’s in question. Is he a franchise defenseman? Is he a well-rounded star? Is he a guy who does everything well, but nothing spectacularly, in a ton of minutes against tough competition? And how does any of that line up with a set of statistical models that don’t seem to, uh, like him all that much? Until this season, he looked the part and, often enough, the results seemed to match.

The Blackhawks have made their decision. They’re paying him like a franchise-altering star and a future Norris Trophy winner, and they’re doing it for a long time; he’s going to count $9.5 million on an $81.5 million cap for the next eight years. If and when the cap jumps up again, he’s going to likely be in decline — whatever that looks like — until his deal expires at the beginning of the 2030s. The 2030s.

He’s 26, by the way. Not a kid anymore.

All this is to say that signing Jones to that exact deal on the open market next season would’ve been dodgy. To give up assets — and a ton of them — makes it worse. I don’t feel great about saying that, either. Jones checks a lot of boxes for a lot of people, and the jury is rightfully out on how the rest of his career will unfold. But at best, it’s a gamble, and the Blackhawks paid for a stone-cold, lead-pipe lock. As Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews age out, they’re betting on Jones to be the bulwark for the franchise’s next phase. They’re not all that close to contending right now, and there should be a real question about what Jones’ contract will do when they theoretically re-emerge. It’s tough to see it working out.

The Blue Jackets’ package is a big part of the reason that feels true. There are lots of reasons to like Boqvist, including several from folks more educated on his game than I. If he ends up being a second-pair, PP-capable guy — and that’s far from impossible — that ceiling combined with the draft capital Columbus is receiving in return, combined with the salary commitment to Jones, the final grades could get tipped in a major, major way for the Blue Jackets. For the time being, I’m trying to keep an open mind.

There’s a bigger issue at play in Columbus that will be tackled elsewhere; everyone wants to leave. For the time being, though, if this was what they had to do with Jones, they came close to maximizing the “opportunity,” if you want to call it that. A legit prospect and a raft of picks? Can’t expect much more than that

Looks like there will be a goalie available at.11.
- boilermaker100

i am getting worried they will be there at 32

Whelp. there goes the guy I was hoping to be there at 32
- Elbows15

Someone please take the goalies soon!

This smells of "one more run for Toews and Kane." Their fate is sealed. Both will be gone in 22 or 23. The deal was not so bad, but the contract is an albatross after about 2024 or 25. How do you pay D-cat and Dach?
- hpk90

Easy - trade Kane.

Whelp. there goes the guy I was hoping to be there at 32
- Elbows15

Tyler Boucher? I suppose the silver lining is he wouldn't have been there at #11 either.

We would have had Sillinger!

Sillinger is a mother fuc#*^@ beast!!........ Atta boy, Jarmo.

We would have had Sillinger!
- I Am The Breadman

Not according to Darth.

Easy - trade Kane.
- RickJ

Or Jones.

Sillinger will probably want out of Columbus in 6 or 7 years. Hawks will have a shot at him then.

Not according to Darth.
- HawkintheD

Darth is yearly wrong though.

Tyler Boucher? I suppose the silver lining is he wouldn't have been there at #11 either.
- HawkintheD

Yeah. Its where he has been projected. I like him more than Sillinger.

Bowman has officially blown up the rebuild. All for the sake of distraction of the pending law suit
- BetweenTheDots

More likely Rocky blew it up.

Easy - trade Kane.
- RickJ

They won't need to. Dinky's contract is up at the same time as Kane and Dach will be bridge tending is my guess. Dach hasn't earned a longer deal yet. Unless he explodes this season, his contract won't be an issue.