Jackets, Blackhawks feel effect of Seth Jones trade
Jake Bean was on a boat. Cruising along on Kalamalka Lake in British Columbia, the 23-year old defenseman found out in late July he'd been traded to the Blue Jackets.
“One of my best buddies broke it to me,” said Bean, who was acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes in July for a second-round pick the Blue Jackets picked up in a multi-faceted trade with the Chicago Blackhawks prior to the start of the 2021 NHL draft. “We were just hanging out on his boat, and he told me that I got traded. He found it on Twitter, and then shortly after that we docked the boat, and I made some calls to find out for real.”
Hours later, after making three first-round picks, Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen described the day as “bittersweet … but exciting.”
The bitter part was obvious.
Seth Jones, who will make his first return to Nationwide Arena Tuesday with the Blackhawks, was a potential captain had he stayed. It stung learning he had no interest in signing a contract extension.
A trade was the best solution, and the return from it was the “exciting” part for the Jackets, who acquired Bean, Adam Boqvist and rookie center Cole Sillinger as part of it — along with an additional firstround pick from the Blackhawks in either 2022 or 2023.