Even though the Columbus Blue Jackets have a lot of work to do clearing salary cap space this summer they still found a way to keep one of their best young players on a long-term contract extension.
The team announced on Wednesday morning that it has signed defenseman Seth Jone to a six-year contract. Financial terms of the deal were not released by the team, but it is reported to be worth a total of $32.4 million. That comes out to a salary cap hit of $5.4 million per season.
Jones, who turns 22 in October, was eligible for restricted free agency this summer.
The Blue Jackets acquired Jones in a trade with the Nashville Predators this past season in the deal that sent center Ryan Johansen the other way. In 81 games with the two teams he recorded a career-high 31 assists (three goals, 28 assists) while playing more than 22 minutes a night. His playing time dramatically increased following the trade because it put him into a situation in Columbus where he went from being the No. 4 or 5 defenseman (as he was in Nashville) to being the top guy. He seemed to respond well to the additional playing time, doubling his point production from what it had been in Nashville.
It's a big investment now, but given what Jones has already shown in the NHL and the potential he still has to be a top-pairing defender in the league it has a chance to become a great value contract in the near future for Columbus.
That is something the organization really needs at the moment because its salary cap situation is not great. With Jones now under contract the team is pretty much at the upper limits of the league's salary cap and has not had a chance to do anything to improve a roster that finished this past season near the bottom of the NHL standings. Making matters worse is the fact they have a lot of players in the late 20 and early 30s signed to expensive, long-term contracts that are likely only to continue to decline in the coming seasons.
