[4] He was initially assigned in his first professional season of 2007–08 to the American Hockey League (AHL) with affiliate the Lake Erie Monsters before being recalled by the Avalanche on December 20, 2007.

[6] Highlighted by his skating speed despite a large frame, Jones scored 30 points in 45 games with the Monsters before his was again recalled for a third time and stayed with the Avalanche for the remainder of the season.

After scoring ten goals and six assists for 16 points in his 23rd game of the 2009–10 season, injury found Jones again on November 28, 2009, in a 3–2 shootout loss against the Minnesota Wild.

He tangled up with Minnesota's Chuck Kobasew at center ice and landed hard with his knee in an awkward position just before teammate Paul Stastny tripped over him.

[8] Jones returned to complete his first full healthy season for the Avalanche in 2010–11, and despite losing a glimpse of his speed from his repaired ACL, he was rewarded with playing a career high 77 games and tied Matt Duchene for the team lead in goals with 27.

On June 27, 2013, Jones' tenure with the Avalanche ended when he was traded along with Shane O'Brien to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Alex Tanguay and Cory Sarich.

The goal was Jones' last as a member of the Calgary Flames, as twelve days later, on February 29, 2016, he was traded at the deadline to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for goaltender Niklas Backstrom and a 6th-round pick (Matthew Phillips).

The Wild qualified for the playoffs, and Jones recorded a single point (an assist) en route to a six-game defeat at the hands of the Dallas Stars.