Blackhawks fans will have to get used to Seth Jones as lone NHL All-Star

The Chicago Blackhawks used to run the NHL All-Star game. While the event has not been in Chicago since 1991, there have been plenty of years in the past where the Hawks have run the event.

Back in 2015, the Blackhawks were fresh off a trip to the Conference Final with two Stanley Cups in four seasons, as well as an additional Cup on the way that upcoming summer. During the 2015 All-Star Game in Columbus, the Blackhawks had five players voted in as All-Stars amongst the first group of six to be named to the event.

Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Corey Crawford were the five Hawks voted into the game in 2015. Toews served as a captain on one of the teams and Kane was an assistant on another. That was 2015 and today tells a very different tale.

Blackhawks fans will have to get used to Seth Jones as the lone NHL All-Star on the team.

Last season, Alex DeBrincat was the lone Hawk who went to the All-Star game. Before that, it was Patrick Kane’s place for years. With Toews and Kane both in the final year of their current contract and the Blackhawks going into full rebuild mode, Seth Jones as the Hawks representative will probably be the case for the next handful of years.

Seth Jones is signed through the 2029-30 season with the Hawks. He is making the most money on the team, and based on the talent signed past this season, he really is the biggest star. Jones is probably the future captain of this team and there is little doubt he will be at a lot of all-star games down the line.

I would have liked to see Toews or Kane at this all-star game as a final bow out for the stars in Chicago. While it is not a certainty that they will be traded this season, neither has a contract for 2023-24, so one would imagine they are not going to be on the team past this year.

While it would have been cool to see them at the All-Star game, it will be fun watching the Seth Jones era truly begin in Chicago. Maybe in a few seasons, a future star like Connor Bedard could join Jones at the event as another Blackhawk.

The 2023 NHL All-Star game is set for Feb. 4 at FLA LIVE Arena in Sunrise, Florida.