Zac Jones Has Opened His Eyes Through Difficult NHL Journey

Zac Jones has experienced some incredible highs and some difficult lows through the 2024-25 campaign with the New York Rangers. 

He’s been inserted in and out of the lineup throughout the season, a common theme over the course of his Rangers tenure thus far. 

For most players, the constant uncertainty of their lineup stability would negatively impact them. 

However, Jones has learned to cope with the situation and he’s actually grown stronger from it, believe it or not. 

“The lows suck some days and the highs are great some days,” Jones said. “It is what it is in this business sometimes. Being the seventh defenseman last year really opened my eyes to different things in life, not taking everything personally per se and kind of just rolling with the punches. I try to be as even keel as possible. 

“Obviously some days you’re going to be better than others, some days you’re going to be worse than others, but if I can be even keel no matter what happens, whether I play great or whether I play terribly. It’s about staying the course the whole year and trying to maintain a positive mindset the whole time.” 

The 24-year-old defenseman has shown he’s capable of being an everyday NHL player. While Jones continues to make strides, that secure spot in the lineup still hasn’t come for him. 

For better or for worse, Jones has been forced to go through this difficult NHL journey, which he’s taken in stride.

“It’s definitely not something I ever envisioned myself going through or ever wanted to go through,” Jones said about consistently getting scratched out of the lineup. “It definitely opens your eyes a little bit that’s for sure, but somebody’s gotta do it and that’s the business sometimes.”

Through all of the hard and frustrating moments, Jones kept a smile on his face, worked hard and remained in positive spirits around the team. 

Rangers coach Peter Laviolette took notice of that and he continues to be impressed with how Jones conducts himself on a daily basis. 

“He’s a guy that comes into work every day and for the most part is in a good mood,” Laviolette said of Jones. “He works hard and practices hard. He’s played hard as well. He’s come in and given us some good minutes. 

“The whole time I’ve been here, he’s contributed and has done really well. To me, he’s been real professional about it. He comes in, he works out hard in the gym, he works out hard on the ice, he plays hard in games. He’s been a great teammate, so you can’t ask for anything more.”

That trust from Laviolette has translated into a lot more playing time for Jones lately as he’s been in the lineup for the past 12 games. 

Jones anchored the Blueshirts’ first power-play unit for a period of time with Adam Fox injured before claiming a role on the second power-play unit upon Fox’s return. 

Between Jones’ speed and offensive mindset, the power play is a place where he can truly thrive. 

“I think that’s one of my strong suits, being on the power play,” Jones said. “It’s something that I take a lot of pride in. Something growing up I wanted to do. I think I do a good job of moving up there, finding shooting lanes, finding passing lanes, trying to get other guys open. It’s not much of an adjustment per se, just different ice time.”

This season, Jones has played 40 games compared to the 30 he played during the 2023-24 campaign, so that’s certainly something to look at. 

In those 40 games, Jones has recorded one goal, 10 assists and 11 points while averaging 17:06 minutes.

It may be subtle, but Jones can feel the improvements he’s made during the year and he should only continue to improve as time goes on.

“I think my defensive game has gotten better, as far as being aggressive on guys in the D-zone,” Jones said. “Obviously there are still little things I need to clean up, but defensively I think I’ve steadily improved the whole year.”