4 Big Questions for the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2020-21

1. Is 2020-21 the year Seth Jones wins the Norris Trophy?

Let’s be honest here; the Norris Trophy is slanted towards defensemen who put up big numbers in the National Hockey League.

After all, we live in an offense-driven world now and Roman Josi‘s 65 points in 2019-20 were a big factor behind why the Nashville Predators stud won the Norris Trophy last year.

Therefore, is 2020-21 the year that Seth Jones gets his hands on the coveted trophy?

It isn’t out of the realms of possibility given that Jones has improved year-after-year, and the 26-year-old put forward arguably his most complete season in 2019-20.

While his 30 points (6 G, 24 A) in 56 regular-season games were the lowest total he had put up since the 2014-15 season, Jones stepped up defensively and was a rock for his team in-front of two goalies who were unproven and untested in the NHL.

Jones logged an average of 25:17 of ice time per night while recording 123 blocked shots and 62 hits, while his shooting percentage of 4.8% was just a touch lower than it was the year before, which suggests he just suffered from some bad puck luck in the offensive zone.

But the three-time All-Star really elevated his all-round game and he was also an absolute beast in the 2019-20 Stanley Cup Playoffs, logging a crazy ATOI of 32:40 and proving that he can be relied on in all situations, including on both the power play and on the penalty kill.

There is no doubt that Seth Jones will see a boost in his offensive numbers in 2020-21, thanks in part to the more settled situation between the pipes, while another year of being dominant in every single facet of the game should see the elite defenseman collect more votes for the Norris Trophy, and maybe even win it.