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The Boston Bruins will be in the building with prized free agent
Jimmy Vesey.
Set for a Wednesday afternoon meeting with the name that’s made August relevant in the world of hockey, a meeting that will be held at Warrior Ice Arena, the new practice facility of the Bruins in Brighton, Mass., according to the Providence Journal’s Mark Divver, the Black and Gold are expected to pull out all the stops for their face-to-face sales pitch. And though the Bruins are not expected to go full Celtics-on-Durant in regards to their Vesey visit (sorry guys, I don’t think New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is clearing his schedule for this one), it’s expected that the B’s will bring more than just general manager Don Sweeney and the rest of their front office to the talk. It’s expected that some of Boston’s leaders, such as
Patrice Bergeron, will be in attendance.
With money not an issue in this entire process -- the most money a team can offer Vesey is the $925,000 entry-level base salary plus up to $2.85 million in potential bonuses -- it’ll be on Sweeney and the B’s entourage to convince the North Reading, Mass. native that he should remain at home.
Easier said than done, at least if you consider the competition.
The Buffalo Sabres, who held from Vesey’s rights from late June through Monday night, have pitched a one-two punch with Vesey as the two to superstar center Jack Eichel’s one. The Chicago Blackhawks’ bids have included Jonathan Toews, a potential linemate for Vesey given their thin winger group. The fact that they’ve won three Stanley Cups with this core since 2010 might help their cause, too. The Pittsburgh Penguins, one of the once thought to be dark horses in the race for the 6-foot-1 winger, have a new Stanley Cup and two of the game’s five best centermen on their roster.
Everybody is doing or has done their part to sell Vesey on their city, and now the B’s get theirs.
So what can the Bruins include in their pitch?
Although they may not have the superstar allure like a Toews, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, or even superstar-of-tomorrow comparables like in Buffalo (Eichel) and Toronto (2016 No. 1 overall pick Auston Matthews), the Bruins do have a considerably elite centermen group that could find ways to make Vesey happy at the NHL level. Though Vesey would be an unlikely fit next to Patrice Bergeron unless he were to switch to his off-wing as a right winger given Brad Marchand’s freakish fit next to Bergeron, Vesey could find a home next to David Krejci, a player that has twice led the NHL in playoff scoring, David Backes, or even to the left of budding dynamic playmaker Ryan Spooner.
It was similar depth at center that allowed
Blake Wheeler to come to Boston in a situation akin to Vesey’s (Wheeler opted not to sign with the Arizona Coyotes, the team that drafted him, and instead test the market) in 2008 and put up 21 goals in a third-line role with Krejci and Michael Ryder.
The Bruins could also point to a big league roster still capable of making noise in the NHL right now in spite of two just misses from postseason play, but focus on the pipeline and next wave of Bruins coming up, either in Providence, juniors, or in the NCAA. It’s been said by many that the Black and Gold have a sneaky good prospect pool, and many of the players included in that group skate with teams Vesey was more than familiar with throughout his four-year run with the Harvard Crimson.
While Vesey does not transform the Bruins into Stanley Cup contenders overnight, Boston would allow him to step into an NHL roster with more than enough high-end talents -- from Backes to Bergeron to Krejci and Marchand up front and Zdeno Chara on the backend and Tuukka Rask in net -- to alleviate the pressures of being ‘the guy’ right away. Vesey could still be an impact talent for the Bruins in year one, but there’s also a chance that he’s the third-best left-winger on the Bruins behind Marchand and maybe Matt Beleskey. Which, depending on who you talk to, is a plus for Vesey, at least at first.
But if there’s one the Black and Gold can offer than nobody else can, it’s the comforts of home.
Vesey has spent his entire career in Massachusetts. This is a player that grew up between Charlestown and North Reading. He remained here for his high school career, and stayed in town for college, too, in Cambridge, Mass. with Harvard. His family, though the Maple Leafs employ both his father Jim (as a scout) and brother Nolan (a sixth-round choice by the club in 2014, currently playing his college hockey in Maine), is here. His friends are here. For some, there’s no tangible value on that.
When a player from Massachusetts spends his entire pre-pro career in town, there’s usually a reason, and that can range from familiarity to the importance of being close to those you care about. That seems to be a factor for Vesey, too, as Chicago is really the only Western Conference club even considered in the running for the 23-year-old. So if not Boston, it’s gotta be somewhat close, no?
And there’s no NHL arena that’ll be closer to Vesey’s home than the TD Garden.
A surely mentioned piece in their pitch that begins just 15 minutes away from Causeway.
Ty Anderson has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, has been a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter since 2013, and can be contacted on Twitter, or emailed at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.
Boston Bruins Blogger •Bruins Feature Columnist • 
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