JONES SPEAKS UP ... COSTAS SHUTTING DOWN ... AND MORE (OF COURSE)
Lots of stuff ... Believe it or not … Richmond’s ZAC JONES made headlines in New York by offering an opinion about teammate and NHL Rangers goalkeeper IGOR SHESTERKIN … who will become a free agent if he doesn’t sign a new contract before the 2025-26 season … and negotiations apparently have been put on hold after he rejected a five-year deal worth $11 million annually … which would make Shesterkin the highest-paid goalie … “Pay the man,” said Jones, who usually chooses his words so carefully he seldom is interviewed. “He is the best goalie … hands down. There is no one as good as Igor Shesterkin.” … The 24 year old defenseman is the first Ranger, to our knowledge, to say that publicly … on a team that has been beholden to Shesterkin for the past three seasons. This year, for example, New York is 8-2-1 despite shoddy work at the defensive end that the 28- year-old Russian has made up for with one brilliant, how- did-he-do-that? save after another. For example, agai