In a draft-day blockbuster, the Hawks acquired the 26-year-old star from the Blue Jackets.
Bowman also committed a massive chunk of the Hawks’ future cap space to Jones.
He became a face of the otherwise obscure Jackets franchise after he was acquired from the Predators in 2016, finishing fourth in Norris Trophy voting in 2018 and helping the Jackets win a playoff series for the first time ever in 2019.
But his results turned downward in 2021, both in terms of points — he tallied 28 in 56 games — and especially in his underlying numbers.
With Jones down to one year left on his previous contract and planning to test free agency in 2022, the Blue Jackets were eager to move him.
Boqvist, meanwhile, could explode into a dynamic, top-pairing-caliber defenseman in Columbus or stagnate as more of a power-play specialist.
The rebuilding Jackets, also flush with three new top-25 picks from Friday, will happily wait to find out.
After all, the team sent a letter to fans less than a year ago announcing a rebuild and youth movement, signaling they’d finally abandon their aimless, one-foot-in retooling strategy of 2018 and 2019.
The Hawks’ 2021 defense isn’t entirely set in stone yet, with a decision yet to be made on pending restricted free agent Nikita Zadorov, but Jones can safely be penned into the top pairing.
Deonta Sanchez, 25, allegedly battered a 55-year-old who was delivering food July 18 in the 4500 block of North St.