This wasn't where Seth Jones was supposed to end his third NHL season -- stapled to the bench in a meaningless game as his Columbus Blue Jackets played out the string of a lost year.
But there he was, in the final game of the 2015-16 campaign, the most celebrated American hockey prospect in years benched against the Chicago Blackhawks after his first-period turnover resulted directly in a goal by winger Artemi Panarin.
After sitting out the second period against Chicago, Jones returned to start the third period, eventually assisting on Scott Hartnell's overtime winner in a 5-4 Columbus victory that closed out a 34-40-8 record, which ranked second-worst in the Eastern Conference.