Why is Zach Jones worth a 2nd?

It's that time of the offseason, where people find the waiver eligible guys that don't have a spot in the lineup and and trade them off for a nice return.

Why was Jack McBain worth a second? Zach Jones is a good offensive defenseman prospect who is locked in for 2 seasons at a very doable and cheap cap hit. Rangers dont have a spot for him and I dont see them losing him for nothing (because he is definitely going to get picked up). Blues dont have to be the team that gets him but I thought it would be a good fit for both teams. And tbh if I have the value totally wrong, just say that. What would he be worth then?

Hard pass. The Blues are trying to reduce their number of small offensive Dmen, not add more. Maybe he'd be worth a 2nd somewhere else, but not in STL.

I don’t know his value but I don’t think teams really trade a 2nd for an unproven prospect at the NHL level. Especially one that we don’t necessarily know will make an impact yet. But I also don’t know enough about Zach Jones

Not an easy question to answer tbh. Every team will be making their cuts out of camp so it's not really a time that GMs are trying to make external additions. I guess if someone really saw something they loved, they'd pay a later pick, like outside of the top-90, but most teams have players of this caliber in their systems that deserve a look anyways. For example, the Blues have to get Tyler Tucker and Scott Perunovich some ice time, they can't be spending picks on other team's guys. If he gets grabbed off waivers, is it really significant loss to the Rangers?

I am not making a comment on the fit with the Blues. Jones is NHL ready having played 1LD and at a high level in the AHL and also some NHL experience. His worth is that he can step in right away, the Rangers will not just let him go to waivers, a likely trade would be a swap for another regarded prospect that is blocked on their team. He will be in a camp battle for 3LD and PP2 QB, but given Gus' experience and having played for Lavi, Gus will probably win the 3LD position. If Jones shows out in camp or in the early season, a 2nd rounder could be in order, but he could also win the position which is preferable to the Rangers. if Jones can take hold of the position, then it will be a one-year no-risk insurance deal with Gus.

Jones is worth more than this but nobody is going to pay it without him spending more time in the NHL. More than likely he will go somewhere else for a 4th after not getting a fair shot on NYR, play 2 seasons producing .5 PPG and sign a 3.5/4m x 4 deal somewhere else and be Spurgeon lite.

the stars just did it with Nils last season... they didnt trade a second they traded an unprotected 1st in 2023. I would say he is unproven still but he has NHL experience its not like he's never dressed for an NHL game. I would like the rangers to keep him but this is more of a realistic route. Again ill reiterate, it doesn't have to be to the blues and I do think they at least get between 2nd or a 3rd or like you said another prospect who is blocked at another position.

Yes 100% fair. I wonder if a 3rd works for his return. Nils was a 28th overall pick and basically the Rangers received a 29th pick for him (although they didn’t keep that pick). But yes I agree could be any team. Probably more of a contender who values Zach Jones and his development thus far over the option to select their own guy at the draft.

I don’t see the blues doing this