What’s the deal with Zac Jones?

When the New York Rangers announced that they had signed college defenseman Zac Jones to his Entry Level Contract, it was met with excitement and anticipation.  Jones decided to turn pro after his UMass Minutemen won the NCAA Frozen Four championship.   He was named to the All-Tournament team, a fitting end to an excellent sophomore season for the 20-year-old.

In 29 games he scored nine goals and added 15 assists for 24 points, an improvement over his freshman year.  In the four games in the  NCAA tournament he scored one goal and had three assists, had a plus/minus rating of +4 with 11 shots. He scored the key opening goal in UMass’ 3-2 Semifinals win over defending champion Minnesota-Duluth.

The left shot defenseman has been highly regarded since he played for the Tri-City Storm in the USHL.  His stock rose substantially when he took over as he power play quarterback at UMass with the departure of Cale Makar.

Where Jones ranks in the Rangers’ defensive pipeline among players who have not turned pro is probably behind Nils Lundkvist and ahead of Braden Schneider,  Matthew Robertson and Hunter Skinner.

Burning a year of his ELC

The Rangers signed Jones to a three year Entry Level Contract (ELC) that begins this season.  That means they have burned the first year of the contract.   Their other option would have been to sign him to his ELC beginning with the 2021-22 season.  That would have meant that he wouldn’t reach Restricted Free Agent status until 2024.  Now, he will be a RFA in 2023.   If they had waited, he couldn’t play with the Rangers this season.

If they had signed him for 2021-22 he could have seen action with the Wolf Pack by signing an Amateur Tryout Contract (ATO).  That’s the typical strategy.  Teams will sign a player and burn a year of an ELC if they think the player can help them right away.

Examples of players who signed their ELC’s and made the jump include Cale Makar with the Avalanche two years ago and Chris Kreider who was signed out of Boston College in 2012 and played 18 playoff games before playing in the regular season.

Will he play?

As long as the Rangers are contending for a playoff spot, don’t look for Jones to make his pro debut anytime soon.   This week, Coach David Quinn was asked about his impressions of Jones and his potential to contribute.  Quinn said that one issue is the lack of practice time.  He added “You want to put him in a situation where he’s gonna have success.  Obviously these games are very meaningful for us.  We’re in a playoff battle.  You’ve got a guy who can really skate, he’s got a great hockey IQ, he competes.  There’ s a lot to love about him. ”

But then Quinn put the idea of seeing Jones in a game anytime soon to rest. “This is the National Hockey  League.  You don’t just take someone and drop him in the lineup, they’ve  got to earn it and give you reason to put him in.  We’re just gonna watch him and if it seems to be the right move and he gives us a chance to  help us win hockey games, we’ll put him in.  We certainly won’t hesitate to put him in there if we think it will help us win.”

The only issue with that is it will be tough for Jones to “earn” a job in the minimal practice time that they have.   The other problem for Jones is that the current Rangers blueline corps is playing very well.   The only obvious choice would be to move Hajek to the right side where he has played before and replace Brendan Smith with Zac Jones.  That is not going to happen.

When asked about his odds of getting to play, Jones was respectful, saying “I’m just here to work as hard as I can and hopefully if I get the chance, great, but it’s the coaches decision. I’m just here to learn from the veteran guys and go from there.”

Decisions, decisions

Eventually, Zac Jones will make his NHL debut and get some NHL action.  It’s going to be an important audition as the Rangers have some important decisions to make.  There’s no doubt that the team will be in the market for a top center this off-season.  There’s also no doubt that it will take sacrificing some of their young talent.

You can be sure that in exchange for a first or second line center, the asking price will begin with K’Andre Miller.  Is he an untouchable?  In exchange for a top line center, there are very few untouchables.  An impressive debut for Jones could mean that the Rangers would be willing to deal Miller and replace him with Jones or other teams would be see Zac Jones as the top defense prospect they would take.

Nils Lundkvist is the Rangers top defense prospect and as a right shot blueliner, he looks to fit right into the rotation next season.  That means the trade bait will be Miller, Jones, Robertson, Libor Hajek, Tarmo Reunanen or even Ryan Lindgren.

With four potential call ups from Hartford, it’s not just Jones we may see on Ranger blue line before the end of the season.  Reunanen has14 points in 17 games, good for sixth in the AHL and he may be due a trip to New York. It will just be another chance for the Rangers to take some notes on their young talent that will help them make a big decision this summer.