Zac Jones discusses the struggles he faces as the New York Rangers limited his playing time

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Hunter Bowman
October 27, 2024 (11:06 PM)

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New York Rangers defenseman expresses his true feeling towards the Rangers organization after limited playing time.

After Rangers defenseman Zac Jones played the first four games of the season, head coach Peter Laviolette made the decision to make him a health scratch for the last three games.

Unfortunately this is not an unfamiliar situation for Jones, as he was a healthy scratch for a big part of the 2023-24 season.

However, despite the all this the 24-year old defenseman was back in the Rangers lineup on Saturday night against the Anaheim Ducks.

Here's what Zac Jones had to say:

«Nobody's happy when they get scratched,» Jones said about his limited playing time. «That's for sure, you can ask anybody in this locker room. It is what it is, it's a business decision. I just took it for what it was and kind of use it as a reset almost and try not to think of it like I'm the odd man out. Take a reset, take a break, clear your head a little bit and whenever I get that next opportunity, take advantage of it.»

The Rangers have recently placed Chad Rugwedel on waivers, leaving Jones swapping in and out of the lineup with rookie defenseman Victor Mancini.

«That was the hardest thing about the past couple of years, just learning how to handle being scratched and handle not being in the lineup every night, so kind of learned over the past couple of years how to handle it,» Jones said. «It's been an easier process for sure.

The young defenseman has done a better job at navigating through these tough periods, along with a really solid training camp. But now, Jones will have to prove that he is an actually NHL calibre players and show that he can make an impact on the Rangers.