Tonight in Montreal, Zac Jones will be scratched in favor of Chad Ruhwedel Ryan Lindgren. Naturally, this irked a few folks on social media, as Jones has been fine to start the season. Nothing spectacular, just adept at moving the puck up the ice in a third pair role. So benching Zac Jones came as a bit of a surprise, especially since Ruhwedel Lindgren is a known entity. But there is nothing to worry about, especially in October, with the Rangers sitting Jones for a game.
Update: Ryan Lindgren is the guy coming in, not Ruhwedel. Some of the post is outdated. I edited above to be correct, but the pieces about benching Zac Jones still apply whether it’s Lindgren or Ruhwedel.
Benching Zac Jones–perhaps benching is too harsh, but SEO gotta SEO–isn’t a product of his performance on the ice, which can stand to improve a bit. While Peter Laviolette is also stating it’s about getting Ruhwedel some playing time, I think there’s another factor at play here. That factor is Victor Mancini, and his status with the Rangers when Ryan Lindgren is fully healthy and able to return.
It’s expected that Mancini will be returned to Hartford to get more playing time. He’s had some expected struggles and growing pains, which are best served being worked out in the AHL. Mancini will be a Ranger, and it may even be later in the season, but for now he’s best served in Hartford for both development and roster management, as he’s the only defenseman that doesn’t require waivers.
However, there may be more to benching Zac Jones than meets the eye.
There’s a chance a Mancini-Ruhwedel pair could be a more effective bottom pairing. After all, both are more defensively sound than Jones. Though Jones’ numbers do improve away from Mancini–6 min TOI is not enough of a sample, mind you, so this is just anecdotal–it’s clear the organization values Mancini, whereas Jones’ future with the Rangers is still somewhat in doubt.
This is admittedly grasping at straws, but it’s a possibility nonetheless. Benching Zac Jones is the only viable answer right now in the interest of both getting Ruhwedel time and getting one last look at Mancini.
There have been some concerns about a trade, but I don’t think benching Zac Jones means anything like that. At least not yet. We are just 5 games into the season, and we simply don’t know how the roster is going to shake out. Maybe there’s another injury, maybe Lindgren’s contract negotiations–if there are any–get untenable and a trade is then forced.
There’s just too much unknown right now to make any definitive calls on the Rangers blue line. Jones is far from perfect, but he adds a much needed puck moving element that the Rangers simply don’t have beyond Adam Fox. The Rangers blue line is in need of a significant reshuffle, especially if Lindgren can’t rebound on his atrocious season last year and/or stay healthy enough to rebound. Jones and Mancini will be at the heart of that reshuffle.
Benching Zac Jones is probably temporary. He has a much needed skill set that should, in theory, translate to more overall team success than Ruhwedel. This is probably temporary, and a once a week thing instead of a rotation or permanent replacement.
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