Ex-Rangers defenseman could face former teammates after recall from minors

The New York Rangers might see a familiar face on the opposite blue line when the Buffalo Sabres come to Madison Square Garden on Thursday night.

The Sabres recalled Zac Jones, a defenseman who played 115 games for the Blueshirts from 2021 through 2025, from Rochester of the American Hockey League on Wednesday. He figures to provide emergency depth on the Sabres’ blue line after Buffalo placed Michael Kesselring on injured reserve with a lower-body injury that has prevented him from playing since Dec. 31.

Jones signed a one-year, two-way contract ($900,000 average annual value at the NHL level, according to Puckpedia) with the Sabres on July 2 after the Rangers opted not to offer a contract to the restricted free agent. However, he failed to make the team and was sent to Rochester after clearing waivers. The 25-year-old has a team-high 30 points (two goals, 28 assists) in 27 games with the Americans, where he’s earning $550,000 – one of the biggest paydays in the AHL.

The Buffalo Sabres have recalled defenseman Zac Jones from the Rochester Americans (AHL). pic.twitter.com/tAUo1Y76sB

— Buffalo Sabres PR (@SabresPR) January 6, 2026

This is his third callup by the Sabres this season; he did not dress in either of the first two.

Jones is joining one of the NHL’s hottest teams. The Sabres, who’ve missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for an NHL-record 14 straight seasons, have won 11 of their past 12 games after defeating the Vancouver Canucks 5-3 on Tuesday. At 22-15-4 (48 points), they are one point behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference.

The Rangers’ decision to part ways with Jones was no surprise, considering how he voiced displeasure about his lack of playing time during his final two seasons with the team. A third-round pick (No. 68 overall) by the Rangers in the 2019 NHL Draft, Jones played a career-high 46 games in 2024-25, when he posted career highs of 10 assists and 11 points while averaging 17:15 of ice time. He has 28 points (four goals, 24 assists) in his NHL career, all with the Rangers.

Ex-Rangers D-man Zac Jones recalled by Sabres, could face old team Thursday

Jones appeared to be in line for a regular role on the third defense pairing last season after the Rangers chose not to re-sign veteran Erik Gustafsson nor replace him in free agency in the summer of 2024. But Jones eventually lost playing time, first to rookie Victor Mancini (who was dealt to the Vancouver Canucks in the J.T. Miller trade on Jan. 31) and later to trade acquisitions Urho Vaakanainen, Calvin de Haan and Carson Soucy.

One issue was size: Jones was viewed as being too small (he’s listed at 5-foot-11, 190 pounds) to adequately defend in his own zone. However, his puck-moving skills would have come in handy on a team that fell apart as a group defensively last season.

“I thought there were some good parts of the year,” Jones said at breakup day. “When I had some consistent time, I thought I played well. I thought my defensive game was a lot better this year as opposed to years prior. I lost the offensive game a little bit, but that’s something that this summer I’m really going to try and focus on and get back to.”

Per Natural Stat Trick, Jones was on ice for 157 high-danger scoring chances against and just 118 for, and the Rangers’ expected goals at 5-on-5 were 47.79 percent when he was on the ice.

Jones voiced displeasure about his role early in January.

“It’s tough. It’s really [expletive] tough,” he said. “I mean, I’m just generally a pretty easygoing, happy person. And no matter what is going on in my life, I’m gonna try and come to the rink with a smile on my face . . . But it [expletive] sucks. Like, there’s nothing else I can say about it.”

There’s no word yet as to whether Sabres coach Lindy Ruff will dress Jones against his old team – who ironically could use him now after placing Adam Fox on long-term injured reserve Tuesday. You can bet that Jones would like nothing more than to show his old team what it’s missing without him.