Lindquist: Richmond's first NHL hockey player signs contract with Buffalo
Free, at last.
After five years of being unappreciated by the New York Rangers, Richmond’s Zac Jones signed with the Buffalo Sabres late Tuesday as a free agent.
The 24 year old defenseman, the first player born and raised in Virginia to suit up in the National Hockey League, agreed to a two-way contract that will pay him $900,000 in the NHL or $550,000 if he winds up in the American Hockey League.
Both figures are well above the respective league minimums. Jones made $852,000 in 2024-25 when he appeared in a career-high 46 games for the Rangers but, for reasons never explained, spent most of the season as a healthy scratch.
Officially, Jones did not receive a qualifying offer to remain with the Rangers, who will have a new look on defense. But his father, former trainer and equipment manager for the old Richmond Renegades of the ECHL Rob Jones, reported the Rangers “offered Zachary one million dollars for one year, and he said ‘no.’”
The players’ union keeps track of such things and, according to its ratings, the 5-11, 190 pounder should make no less than $1.25M. When he asked for more, the Rangers, having little wiggle room against the salary cap, “didn’t have the money,” Rob Jones said.
Since the free-agent frenzy began this week, New York traded top 4 defenseman D’Andre Miller to the Carolina Hurricanes for first- and second-round draft selections in 2026 plus defenseman Scott Morrow, who figures to wind up with AHL Hartford … and signed veteran defender Vladislav Gavrikov, a free agent off the Los Angeles Kings’ roster, for seven years at $7M per to replace Miller, a free agent who joined Carolina with an overpriced arrangement calling for $60M for eight years.
In addition, general manager Chris Drury gave holdover forward (and free agent) Will Cuylle $3.9 million for each of the next two years, and brought in forwards Taylor Reddysh, 6-3, 216, from Washington (2 years, $1.5M) and Trey Fix-Wolansky, 5-7, 193 (one year at the NHL minimum $775,000) from the AHL Cleveland Monsters, top affiliate of Columbus … thereby reducing the Rangers’ margin under the salary cap to $2,000-plus, subject to more wheeling and dealing.
A story began making the rounds in New York that Artemi Panarin, the Rangers’ highest salaried player ($12M annually), might be available. At a press conference Thursday, Drury reportedly refused to discuss the high-scoring left winger’s status with the team … which helped him settle a sexual misconduct lawsuit since regular season’s end.
Meanwhile, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Colorado Rockies were among several teams to offer Jones a one-year contract of $1M. Instead, he opted for a slightly lesser amount with the Sabres, who haven’t made the playoffs for a league-record 14 consecutive years.
“He’s taking a chance [read: gambling] on himself,” his father said.
The Sabres finished 35-36-6 and 14th (of 16) in the Eastern Conference under Lindy Ruff, in the first season of his second tour as Buffalo coach. On Nov. 26, they were 11-9-1 and fourth in the Atlantic Division, five points behind first-place Toronto, only to go winless in their next 13 games (0-10-3), and never recovered.
Buffalo has two first-class defensemen in Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power. The rest are average to poor, which is why Jones figures to have made the right decision.
A left-hand shot who can play either side and moves the puck well, he also can run the power play, which he proved during two seasons with AHL Hartford where he was the Wolf Pack’s best on defense playing for Kris Knoblauch, who has coached Edmonton to two straight Stanley Cup finals.
(For more on Zac Jones, and his frustrating time with the Rangers, see Jerry Lindquist’s blog.)
