The Florida Panthers held another practice as they gear up for the return of the NHL season, and they were accompanied by Seth Jones, who was wearing a non-contact jersey.
The Florida Panthers took the ice for another practice this morning and were pleased to be joined by defenseman Seth Jones.
The 31-year-old was wearing a non-contact jersey, a positive step in his recovery. Jones sustained his injury during the Winter Classic after being hit by a puck in the face. After the initial testing, Jones was given a week-to-week timeline and was placed on the LTIR. The team had hopes he would return before the Olympic break, but ultimately, he was forced to miss the 2026 Olympics.
Jones had recently been seen skating privately with Aleksander Barkov, and coach Paul Maurice had provided updates on Jones, as well as several other injured Panthers players.
Maurice told reporters that Jones is about a week away from being cleared to rejoin regular team practices and that he’ll likely start in a non-contact jersey. Maurice was correct about Jones sporting a non-contact jersey, but he’s joined team practices earlier than he had initially anticipated.
Today after practice Maurice spoke about seeing Jones skate with the team.
“Having he (Dmitry Kulikov) and Seth close enough at least to be in a non-contact sweater means they’re not that far off coming back to the lineup,” said Maurice.
Jones’ eventual return to the lineup will be a major boost. The Arlington, Texas native has scored six goals and 24 points in 40 games this season, with 13 of his 24 points coming on the power play. Jones plays big, important minutes for the Panthers, leading the team with an average ice time of 23:29.
Although he is now skating with the Panthers, his return process is still expected to be lengthy, and the Panthers don’t anticipate having him in the lineup soon.
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