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The New York Rangers have made some major moves during the 2024-25 season. The Rangers traded Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks after months of trade rumors. Shortly thereafter, the Rangers traded Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken after controversially benching him. Now, there is more drama around a player. This time it's defenseman Zac Jones.
Jones has seen his playing time reduced rather significantly. In fact, he appears to be New York's seventh defenseman. The team acquired Urho Vaakanainen and Will Borgen in separate trades. The two newcomers have found themselves playing regular minutes on this team. On Wednesday, Jones spoke out about his reduced role, and he didn't mince words while doing so.
“It's tough,’’ the 24-year-old defenseman told Newsday. “It's really [expletive] tough. I mean, I'm just generally a pretty easygoing, happy person. And no matter what is going on in my life, I'm gonna try and come to the rink with a smile on my face . . . But it [expletive] sucks. Like, there’s nothing else I can say about it.’’
Zac Jones is taking Rangers issues to the front office
Zac Jones mentioned he is not trying to ruffle any feathers. This is simply how he feels given the situation at hand. In any event, the 24-year-old has thought about his future with the Rangers. He did not commit to requesting a trade, but he promised a conversation would be happening with the front office soon.
“I'm just gonna have to talk to my agent, talk to my family, and . . . yeah, probably at some point have a conversation with [GM Chris] Drury or Laviolette and go from there,’’ Jones said, via Newsday. “I don't have a crystal ball to tell you exactly what I'm gonna do, but we'll see what happens.’’
Jones is a former third-round pick from the 2019 NHL Draft. He has played 26 games to this point on the season while scoring eight points. The Rangers defenseman had nearly averaged a career-high 17 minutes a game. However, he has missed four of New York's last five games as a healthy scratch.
