NHL EDGE stats: Jones’ outlook after trade to Panthers

NHL.com’s fantasy staff continues to cover the latest trends and storylines in the League through the lens of NHL EDGE puck and player tracker stats. Today, we take a look at Seth Jones’ upside after being traded to the Florida Panthers.

The Florida Panthers acquired defenseman Seth Jones from the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday, giving them a potential new No. 1 option at the position and boosting their chances of defending their Stanley Cup title.

Jones has had a heavy workload for the Blackhawks this season (24:30 per game; 12th in NHL) and also in the past for multiple other teams and brings a robust advanced stats profile to the Panthers, who are currently leading the Atlantic Division standings (37-21-3; 77 points) but missing one of their best players in forward Matthew Tkachuk (lower body).

Here are three significant NHL EDGE stats surrounding Jones’ outlook with the Panthers:

Shot speed

Per NHL EDGE stats, Jones ranked among the defenseman leaders in average shot speed (73.36 miles per hour; 89th percentile) and top shot speed (96.35 mph; 85th percentile) at the time of the trade.

Although Jones’ shots on goal volume is down this season (1.93 per game) compared to last season (2.57; eighth among NHL defensemen), there is obvious bounce-back appeal in that category joining one of the top offenses in the NHL (3.28 goals per game; seventh). At the time of the trade, the Panthers were tied with the Edmonton Oilers for the most shots on goal per game (32.0) this season and ranked second in 5-on-5 shot attempts percentage (55.2) behind the Carolina Hurricanes (59.1).

Midrange production

Despite the Blackhawks being a non-contending team this season, Jones has dominated midrange areas of the ice relative to others at his position. Jones ranked in the 98th percentile among defensemen in midrange goals (six) and 92nd percentile in midrange shots on goal (26) at the time of the trade.

Jones’ goal-scoring prowess has also been clear on the power play; at the time of the trade, he was tied for second among NHL defensemen in power-play goals (five) behind Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche (nine). Four of Jones' six midrange goals have come on the power play.

Offensive zone time percentage on power play

At the time of the trade, the Panthers ranked second in offensive zone time percentage at all strengths (44.6) behind the Hurricanes (47.0) and sixth in that category on the power play (59.7). Jones, who was tied for 15th among NHL defensemen in power-play points (15) this season at the time of the trade, has taken a step back in power-play offensive zone time percentage (58.3; 68th percentile) compared to last season (61.1; 85th percentile) playing for rebuilding Chicago.

But Jones, after the trade, has a chance to improve his power-play zone time rate and give Florida a new quarterback with the man advantage after the departure of Brandon Montour to the Seattle Kraken last offseason. The Panthers, who have been playing mostly Aaron Ekblad (nine power-play points this season) on their first power-play unit, rank 13th on the power play (22.8 percent) at the time of the trade, slightly worse than last season (23.5; eighth). It’s also worth noting Jones ranked in the 95th percentile among defensemen in top skating speed (23.18 mph) last season, an attribute he could showcase more often with a much-improved supporting cast in Florida.

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