Blackhawks place Seth Jones on injured reserve

Chicago Blackhawks veteran defenseman Seth Jones was added to the injured reserve Saturday after sustaining a right foot injury, head coach Luke Richardson confirmed to Mark Lazerus of The Athletic.

Jones appeared to suffer the injury after blocking a shot in Thursday’s 3-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken.

A key piece on a rebuilding Blackhawks squad, Jones leads the entire NHL this season in averaging 25:43 a night. On eight occasions this season, Jones has seen more than 26 minutes of ice time, including 26:12 versus the Kraken. Offensively, the 30-year-old rearguard sits third in Blackhawks scoring with 10 points counting two goals and eight assists coming in 17 contests. Entering Saturday action, the Blackhawks own a 6-10-1 record and sit six points back of a playoff position in the Western Conference.

Jones is skating in his fourth season with Chicago and is in the third year of a maximum eight-year contract that carries a $9.5-million annual average value, per PuckPedia. The Texas-born blue-liner has battled the injury bug over his past two seasons with the Blackhawks as he missed 15 games last season due to a shoulder injury as well as 10 games in 2022-23 after sustaining a thumb injury.

A five-time participant in the NHL All-Star Game, Jones was originally chosen fourth overall by the Nashville Predators in the 2013 NHL Draft. He played part of three seasons with the Tennessee-based club prior to a 2016 trade in which he was dealt to the Columbus Blue Jackets for center Ryan Johansen. Jones was then moved to the Blackhawks as part of a major deal completed at the 2021 NHL Draft that in part saw the Blue Jackets move up to 12th overall in the opening round to select center Cole Sillinger.

Through 814 career contests with the Predators, Blue Jackets, and Blackhawks, Jones has registered 92 goals and 323 assists for 415 points.