Jones can tighten up his defensive game and change a lot for the Blackhawks.
Seth Jones has been better than expected for the Chicago Blackhawks this season and the team definitely missed him when he was out of the lineup with an injury for a while. Even though his offensive game and overall performance as a number one defenseman on the Blackhawks has been solid enough, he still comes with flaws on defense.
While playing for a below average team inflates some numbers and it can cause some defensive stats to look worse than they are, on-ice high danger shot attempts against per 60 minutes is one that better looks at an individual defenseman than the team as a whole.
Among the defenders who have allowed the most on-ice high danger shot attempts against per 60 minutes this season is Jones with five. That is the fourth-most among defensemen this season. The only d-men who allow more are David Savard (5.26), Ryan Lindgren (5.19), and Cody Ceci (5.18).
Jones is on the ice a lot and has 3.71 on-ice high danger shot attempts for per 60 minutes, but that is still a large differential. The Blackhawks get beaten much more than they win, but there is also only one other defenseman on Chicago in the top-55 in the league in on-ice high danger shot attempts against per 60 minutes, and that's Alex Vlasic who plays in all situations as well, but is much younger and less experienced.
Even with how good the Blackhawks' goalies have been, all things considered, Jones plays the most out of the team's defensemen, thus allowing far too many great chances against. The Blackhawks have had their troubles scoring, but they are also sunk by defensive play.
This is an area where Jones has to improve, especially if he's going to play as much as he does. The Blackhawks need him to tighten up his play offensively, but it is also partly on the coaching staff to help him in particular with where to be and how to play situations.
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