Z JONES SHOWS FRUSTRATION AT LAST ... BUT WILL IT WORK?

 Well, he finally went and did it. ZACHARY JONES had all he could take, so he threw open the window and shouted, “I can’t take this any more.”

“He just got tired of being asked over and over, the 

same question,” explained his father, ROB JONES. 

“and he finally said how he really felt.”

The Question, in various forms, went something like .. 

“Uhh, Zac, you’ve been playing well … better than 

most … so how does it feel to be a healthy scratch … 

again?” … which the sixth-year pro from Richmond 

was last night against the Boston Bruins.

This time, instead of his usual “It is what it is,” Jones 

said, “It f—king sucks … It f—king sucks.” … to a 

New York Post writer who described “his voice 

quivering with emotion.”

A defenseman for the New York Rangers, Jones spent 

all of last season in the NHL, watching mostly from 

the press box. He appeared in 31 of the team’s 82 

regular-season games … usually when one of top six 

was out with an injury … and invariably got high 

marks. Yet, he was not called on during three rounds of 

the playoffs despite such players as captain JACOB 

TROUBA and 2022 Norris Trophy winner ADM 

FOX still injured but playing anyway … if not very 

well.

It isn’t in Jones’ DNA to complain, so he kept his 

frustration to himself while the Rangers, under new 

coach PETER LAVIOLETTE, claimed the 

Governors Trophy (with the best record: 55-) then lost 

to eventual Cup-champion Florida for the conference 

title. But, after a strong start (12-4-1) this season, they 

have come upon hard times … and, while Jones has 

been as high as plus 7 in the tell-tale plus-minus 

category, he hasn’t played in 10 of the team’s 37 games 

… five of the last 6 including Thursday night’s game at 

Madison Square Garden won by the Rangers 2-1, 

snapping a four-game losing streak that saw them 

tumble to eighth (last) place in the Metro Division.

“I don’t want to say I don’t get a chance … but it’s 

tough having been in that role the last two years … I’m 

24 years old, and I’ve got to play. It’s as simple as 

that,” Jones was quoted as saying.

“Yes, there were some hiccups here and there during 

my stretch of games … but, overall, I thought I was 

one of our better players throughout the whole thing. I 

mean, the team wasn’t playing well … almost nothing 

was going right … but I don’t want to look at it lik

that.

“It’s frustrating when you think you’re doing some 

things well … and you keep getting taken out, taken 

out, taken out. I feel like I’m rotting away a little bit.”

A third-round draft choice out of Umass, Jones signed 

after winning the NCAA championship in 2021 and 

got into the last 10 games of the season after Trouba 

was injured in a fight with the Islanders’ MATT 

MARTIN. The 5-11, 190-pound lefthander spent the 

next two years with AHL Hartford where he was the 

Wolf Pack’s best – by far – defenseman. 

Last year he was projected to serve on the No. 3 

defensive unit but Laviolette brought in veteran ERIK 

GUSTAFSSON, who played for him in Washington 

the previous season. In a perfect world Jones could 

have gone back to Hartford but, because he now would 

have had to go through waivers first, the Rangers 

didn’t want to lose him … which meant Jones had to 

stay with the parent club.

This year, with Gustafsson signing with Detroit, Jones 

figured (at last) to be a regular. He began the season 

paired with rookie VICTOR MANSINI and also 

played with Trouba and 22 year old BRADEN 

SCHNEIDER. Other than Jones and Schneider (plus 

4), the Rangers’ defense has been terrible.

Nevertheless, Laviolette keeps minus 9 D’ANDRE 

MILLER and minus 3 RYAN LINDGREN in the 

lineup on a regular basis … much to the dismay of 

Ranger fans who would like to see both traded as soon 

as possible … especially Miller, at 6-5 an excellent 

skater who avoids hitting and being hit. The recent 

additions of URHO VAAKANAINEN and WILL 

BORGEN in trades with Anaheim (for Trouba) and 

Seattle (KAAPO KAKKO), respectively, was an 

excuse for Laviolette to sit Jones … again.

“It’s tough … really f—king tough,” Jones told the NY 

Post. “I need to play. I’m a guy who wants to earn my 

paycheck. I have things I need to improve in order to 

be a full-time player, and that’s what I want to be … a 

guy who plays 82 games and is in the lineup every 

night.”

As usual, Laviolette remained mum on his reasons for 

not using Jones other than to say, “I would expect 

anyone out of the lineup to be frustrated [but] any 

message I have for Zac, I’m not going to give them to 

you. I’m going to talk to him directly.”

The coach had a meeting with Jones Thursday 

afternoon. Results to be determined. Jones said he 

hasn’t asked to be traded … but sounding off worked 

for Kakko … hopefully it will for Jones, too.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said. “I wish 

I had a crystal ball.”

Until next time ...