When the Boston Bruins return to the ice this fall, there will be a number of new faces. The two biggest additions will be Nikita Zadorov and Elias Lindholm, while there will also be some notable faces missing with Jake DeBrusk and Matt Grzelcyk signing elsewhere this summer.
Related: Meet the New Bruins: Nikita Zadorov
While maybe not the biggest name, there is a lot to also be intrigued about with the addition of Max Jones, who was signed to a two-year, $2 million deal. It’s a smaller contract that only carries an average annual value of $1 million. He’s a low cap hit guy, similar to the signings that they made last summer when they had very little cap space. But, guys like Danton Heinen and James van Riemsdyk ended up providing a lot more than was expected for the contract they were under. Jones could be the next successful “cheap” signing from general manager Don Sweeney.
Jones’ Road to the NHL
Jones is still fairly young. He was born on Feb. 17, 1998, and is currently 26 years old. He stands at 6-foot-3, fitting in with the Bruins’ front office’s love of size. An American-born player, he grew up in Michigan. His father, Brad Jones, was a former professional hockey player who appeared in 148 NHL games for the Winnipeg Jets, Los Angeles Kings, and Philadelphia Flyers in the late 80s, and early 90s. He also spent some time playing abroad in leagues in Finland and Germany.
Jones joined the United States’ Development Program, playing for their junior team in the United States Hockey League (USHL) for the 2014-15 season. That season, he also played for the US national U17 and U18 teams.
In the 2015-16 season, the season leading up to his draft year, Jones decided to go a different route, joining the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), one of the three major junior leagues in Canada. He was drafted by the London Knights, joining a very talented roster that included Mitch Marner, Matthew Tkachuk, Christian Dvorak, Evan Bouchard, and Robert Thomas.
Jones was sixth on that roster in points with 52 in 63 games that season, including 28 goals. The Knights went on to win the Memorial Cup, the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). Jones though only appeared in six games during the playoff run, registering one goal and two points. He received a 12-game suspension after a blindside hit during a playoff game against the Owen Sound Attack.
Still, Jones entered the 2016 NHL Draft as a Memorial Cup champion and with expectations to go in the first round. He was praised for his ability to take advantage of his size and his above-average skating skills. His shot was also noted as a strong part of his game and his versatility to play on both the penalty kill and power play.
But after being projected as a top-ten pick going into the 2015-16 season, he dipped down the draft boards a bit due to his lack of discipline and playmaking talent, making it hard to predict his ceiling. There were questions if he could be a top-end forward and make the most of his physicality like Tom Wilson, or would ultimately become a bottom-six forward. Ultimately, he was selected 24th overall by the Anaheim Ducks.
Anaheim Ducks
After remaining in the OHL for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons, where Jones eventually became an alternate captain for the Knights before being traded to the Kingston Frontenacs in 2017-18, he made his NHL debut for the Ducks on Jan. 16, 2019, against the Minnesota Wild. He spent the 2018-19 season splitting time between the NHL and the American Hockey League (AHL), where he played for Anaheim’s affiliate, the San Diego Gulls.
Still, his first NHL goal came in the 2018-19 season against the Montreal Canadiens on March 8. He finished that season appearing in 30 NHL games with two goals and five points. In the AHL, he played in 43 games and had 14 goals and 29 points. He continued to split time in the 2019-20 season between the AHL and NHL, but became a full-time NHL player in the 2020-21 season, appearing in 46 games and registering seven goals and 11 points.
Jones’ best season of his career so far came in 2022-23 when he appeared in 69 games and had nine goals and 19 points. He also started getting more minutes as the season wore on and played with two other talented young players on the Ducks’ roster in Mason McTavish and Troy Terry.
Unfortunately, Jones was not able to live up to expectations during his six seasons in Anaheim. He’s dealt with a large amount of injuries, missing all but two games during the 2021-22 season thanks to an upper-body injury. Throw a global pandemic in there as well and it’s hard to really develop your game while spending a lot of time starting and stopping and starting over again. With the number of young players currently on the Ducks’ roster that were in need of a new contract, the team decided not to give the restricted free agent (RFA) a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent (UFA), free to sign a contract with anyone.
What Jones Brings to the Bruins
The Bruins clearly want to get bigger and tougher after two rough playoff series that led to their exits in 2023 and 2024. They brought in Zadorov on defense to achieve that goal and Jones is their answer to get bigger and tougher amongst the forwards.
I like the Jones signing. I think it’s a low-risk contract given the cap hit and could have some big payoffs, similar to what several of last summer’s free agents had during the 2023-24 season. Will he become a top scorer? No. But he could still grow into a decent bottom-six forward that can contribute 10-15 goals, and I think that would be a good metric to see him hit in 2024-25.
Related: Bruins Hopeful Korpisalo Can Perform in Traditional Backup Role
A change of scenery can sometimes be the best option for a player, bringing with it a new environment and most importantly, new coaching. There are similarities between him and fellow 2016 first-round pick, Trent Frederic. Both have had some discipline issues on the ice, though Jones hasn’t had a suspension since leaving the OHL, and are players who had struggles putting up points and were more known for their physicality. Frederic has seen drastic changes in the last two seasons after Jim Montgomery was brought in as head coach, and there’s a good chance Jones could also find a boost in Montgomery’s system.
Boston will be a fresh start for Jones and it could unlock a new aspect of his game. If it doesn’t, and he’s still a guy who is mainly a physical presence who contributes around 15 points, well, he’s not taking up that much cap space. Again, he’s low risk, with a potentially high reward who adds to the roster’s depth. He’s also excellent at drawing penalties, and giving his team power play opportunities.
