Ryan Jones Released by AHL Comets

Ryan Jones will have to find a new team to continue chasing his NHL return, as the Chatham, Ontario native was released this weekend by the American Hockey League’s Utica Comets.

Signing October 9 to a professional tryout contract with the AHL’s Utica Comets, the organization announced yesterday that Jones had been released, making the 30-year-old an NHL and pro free agent.

Jones played in five games with the Comets this season collecting one assist, nine penalty minutes, and a minus-two rating.

A veteran of 334 NHL games, where he collected 54 goals and 46 assists for a total of 100 points over parts of six seasons with the Nashville Predators and Edmonton Oilers, Jones went unsigned through NHL free agency this offseason, and was auditioning with Utica, who is the top affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks, before his release.

An alumni of the Chatham Maroons, Blenheim Blades, and Dresden Kings, as well as the Chatham-Kent Cyclones, Jones will now seek employment elsewhere, which could include another minor pro contract in North America, or a move to Europe if he hopes to continue his professional hockey career.