Blue Jackets Resign Seth Jones as Wild Resign Jason Zucker and Sharks Resign Tomas Hertl

The Columbus Blue Jackets announced on Wednesday that they have given a six-year contract extension to defenseman Seth Jones. 

The 21-year-old Jones, who could have become a restricted free agent on Friday was acquired by the Blue Jackets as part of the deal that sent Ryan Johansen to the Nashville Predators on January 7^th. While the team has not released the details of the contract, it is believed to be worth an average annual salary of 5.4 million dollars. 

Blue Jackets general manager, Jarmo Kekalainen said, “Acquiring Seth Jones was very important to our organization and reaching a long term agreement with him was a priority, so we are extremely excited about having done so today.”

 

He added, “At 21, Seth is just beginning to tap into his potential as a player. He has everything you look for in a defenseman and he is going to be a very important player and leader on our team for many years.”

In 41 games with the Blue Jackets this past season, Jones scored two goals and 18 assists. Prior to the trade with the Predators, he had put up 11 points in 40 games. Over the course of his career, he has scored 17 goals and 66 assists in 240 National Hockey League games. 

In other Hockey News:

The Minnesota Wild signed Jason Zucker to a two-year deal worth four million dollars on Wednesday as well. Zucker, 24, could have become a restricted free agent on Friday had he and the club not reached an agreement on the deal. 

Minnesota selected Zucker with the 59^th pick in the second round of the 2010 NHL Draft. This past season he scored 13 goals and 10 assists in 71 games. He had career highs in games played, assists, shots (158), hits (83) and takeaways (40). 

During the Wild’s first round Western Conference playoff series with the Dallas Stars, he added two assists in six games. In 169 games with the Wild, over the course of his career, he has managed to score 42 goals and 19 assists. 

The San Jose Sharks also announced that they have agreed to a two-year, six-million-dollar deal with forward Tomas Hertl. The 22-year-old could have become a restricted free agent on July 1^st had the two sides not been able to come to terms. 

Over the course of his career, the native of the Czech Republic, has scored 49 goals and 53 assists in 200 games. 

During the Sharks Stanley Cup run this past spring, Hertl scored six goals and five assists in 20 games, before succumbing to a knee injury in the finals, following a hit by Patric Hornqvist of the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

In 81 games during the 2015-2016 regular season, he had 21 goals and 25 assists. 

The Sharks selected Hertl in the 2012 NHL Draft with the 17^th overall selection.