“Zac Jones’s face is covered in bruises and some missing teeth,” reported NHL reporter Johny Lazarus just days ago. The New York Rangers defenseman lost four of his teeth during the game against the Nashville Predators on March 2. But with a recent trade acquisition coming to light, his fans have more to worry about than where Jones is going to get his new teeth from.

Just hours ago, the New York Rangers dropped a crazy trade update: “We have acquired defenseman Carson Soucy from Vancouver in exchange for a 2025 third-round pick (originally San Jose’s by way of Vegas.” And guess who was pivotal in bringing Soucy over to the Big Apple? None other than the prodigal son, J.T. Miller. But that hasn’t softened the blow for fans who are anxious that the Soucy acquisition is code for Jones getting scratched, or worse — traded.

Ever since joining the Rangers, the 2019 third-round pick has struggled for ice time, going past the 30-game mark only twice in his five seasons with the side. This season, after being sidelined as a healthy scratch for 18 games since late December, Jones was sent to the Rangers’ AHL affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack for conditioning. “It’s really f—ing tough,” said Jones to New York Post’s Larry Brooks in January. “I need to play. I have things I need to improve in order to be a full-time player, and that’s what I want to be,” he added.

And just as he was starting to get a good amount of ice time because of Adam Fox’s upper-body injury and Ryan Lindgren’s trade to Colorado, the signing of Cason Soucy for the Canucks seems to have come like the final nail to the coffin that is Jones’ time with the New York Rangers.

However, now that he is getting to play, Jones himself is not too anxious about a potential trade. “If I wasn’t playing, my mindset might be a little different,” Jones told lohud.com. “But now that I am playing, I’m just trying to focus on that and let the rest take care of itself,” he concluded. And while any one of the Calgary Flames, the Ottawa Senators, the Edmonton Oilers, or the Seattle Kraken could be going in for the defenseman, fans don’t want him to go.

Fans don’t want the Zac Jones trade

Some fans weren’t impressed with the trade to begin with. “Too many defencemen. More trades coming,” wrote one fan. “Terrible trade,” wrote another, choosing not to mince their words. Most others, however, weren’t as concerned with who was coming in, as much as they were preoccupied with who could be going out.

“Okay, whatever. Just tell me you’re keeping Jones,” commented a fan. “Bruh, don’t do Zac Jones dirty again. It’s gonna be him getting traded or scratched, isn’t it smh,” wrote another with the same priorities. One fan seemed to have had enough of the Rangers snubbing Zac Jones and did not see compromise as a way forward, “Jones better not be getting traded or benched for that matter.”

 

And if you thought they shied away from taking names. The backlash is real and even GM Chris Drury wasn’t spared. “Chris Drury really,” questioned another. Ouch.

Zac Jones was on the roster for yesterday’s game against Alex Ovechkin’s Washington Capitals. The game ended in the Rangers’ loss (3-2), but Jones was there to score one point (assist). That could well have been Jones’ last assist for the Rangers. But then again, you never know with deadlines…