Jimmy To Preds: Vesey You Later (vesey)

vesey

Jimmy To Preds: Vesey You Later

By GARTH'S CORNER

Jun 20, 2016 • 4:52 pm

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Updated:

Understandable, Nashville GM David Poile is throwing Jimmy Vesey and his camp under the Zamboni right now.

I'm going to reserve my judgement until I hear Vesey's side of the story. Hopefully, Vesey will speak and give his side of the story in the days to come.

In the meantime, Poile's salty comments about Vesey underscore the anger and fury that the Preds are feeling as a result of being left at the altar.

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**

My sources were correct.

Harvard star Jimmy Vesey has bid adieu to the Nashville Predators.

Vesey the 3rd round pick of the Preds in 2012, will not be signing his entry level contract with the Preds. He will become UFA on August 15.

Preds GM David Poile could not convince Vesey to sign and play in Nashville.

Such a huge loss for Poile who loses a difference maker and a star in the making.

The Preds are understandably shaken by the news of Vesey opting to go to unrestricted free agency in August 15.

So much so that Poile mixed up his metaphors when he said that Vesey did a "360". I think Poile was going for "180".

Poile met with media on Monday night and said that he had spoken with Vesey's agent last Wednesday and they said that they were considering going to the UFA market rather than signing with Nashville.

Poile is clearly agitate by the loss of Vesey to free agency. Poile says that Vesey received "bad advice" from his player agent and reps.

That is the high risk when a kid plays his four year commitment with his NCAA college team.

Vesey's impressive NCAA career came to a premature end on Friday night when Boston College dumped his Harvard squad out of the NCAA tournament.

Preds GM David Poile's loss will be the gain of another NHL GM.

29 other NHL GMs are now swarming Vesey.

Buffalo Sabres GM Tim Murray will not be denied in the Vesey Sweepstakes.

Toronto Maple Leaf fans being Toronto Maple Leafs fans go to bed at night believing that The Buds have the pole position in the race for Vesey. Vesey's father, Jimmy Sr., was hired last August by the Leafs to scout the Boston region. Vesey's brother Nolan (University of Maine) was drafted by Toronto in 2014 (6th round).

Vesey himself has told speculators to pump the brakes on his connection to the Leafs.

Ya know, Buffalo is only 75 minutes south of Toronto. It's closer to Vesey's New England home base than Nashville and Toronto are.

Besides, Jimmy, the Canadian dollar is taking a beating right now.

Keep more of your paycheck by playing in Buffalo where the PST and GST don't exist.

Oh yeah and hey, the Sabres already have Vesey's buddy Jack Eichel playing for them.

I spoke with Eichel recently about Vesey. The two friends have not spoken in a few weeks. However, they do speak on a regular basis during the off season.

I remarked to Jack that his bud Vesey would look great skating in Blue and Gold. Jack agreed.

Hey, you know what?

Tim Murray also has $35 million in cap space for 2016-17 and he just so happens to be aggressively searching for a power, scoring winger to play alongside Eichel and Samson Reinhart. How you doin, Jimmy?

The 6'1… 200 pound power left winger had himself quite a four year career at Harvard.

The driven competitor loves to shoot the puck. Like his buddy Eichel, Vesey has an NHL shot. Vesey landed 530 shots on goal in his four year career at Yale. He had many more shots blocked and others missed the net. Vesey believes that the more you shoot, the more you score.

In 128 games played, he scored 80 goals, added 64 assists. He scored 19 career PPGs and 16 career GWGs. He netted one hat trick.

Imagine a line of three intelligent, talented hockey savants consisting of Jack Eichel, Samson Reinhart and Jimmy Vesey playing set, spike, slam hockey together for the next decade.

Eichel has 23 goals and 50 points. He has played with nearly every winger on the Buffalo roster. He has finally found his mojo with Reinhart. The dynamic duo compliment one another very well. They need a power winger who can flush the walls, set screens and bang home the one timer at even strength.

I think Vesey is a perfect candidate to play that role.

Vesey and his agent need not be reminded that the Sabres are strong down the middle with Ryan O'Reilly, Jack Eichel, Johan Larsson, and Zemgus Girgensons. On a playoff team next season, Zemgus may well be the fourth line center. David Legwand's deal expires on July 1.

The Sabres also have more that capable forwards in Evander Kane, Marcus Foligno, Nic Deslauriers, Tyler Ennis, Justin Bailey, Hudson Fasching. On yeah, Buffalo will be drafting another stud winger in the top five of the 2016 NHL Draft so add either Patrick Laine, Jesse Puljujarvi, or Matt Tkachuk to their 2016-17 depth chart. How wil Tim Murray kep all of these forwards? He can't. He'd have to subtract an Ennis or a Moulson. Don't worry about it. Tim Murray moves in stealth-like ways.

What if Tim Murray steals pending UFA Steven Stamkos away from Tampa Bay?

Distributing pucks to Vesey will be Rasmus Ristolainen, Zach Bogosian, Jake McCabe, Josh Gorges, Cody Franson, and Mark Pysyk.

Robin Lehner and Chad Johnson in the nets is a solid net battery.

Eichel and Vesey have a solid relationship. They grew up close to one another. They were Hobey Baker Award finalists in the spring of 2015. They were teammates for Team USA's bronze winning team at the IIHF World Championships in Prague last spring.

Jack holds a lot of sway with Jimmy.

Vesey is a North Reading, Mass. native. Eichel is a North Clemsford, Mass. native.

In case you are wondering, it's a 29 minute drive from North Chelmsford, Mass. to North Reading, Mass. That's a 23.4 mile trip via I-495 North and I-93 South.

Jack and Jimmy work out with the same NHL player group back home in Massachusetts during the summers.

Jack's player agent is Peter Fish. Vesey is expected to sign with Fish as well.

Imagine if they were to play together in Buffalo for the next 10-12 seasons.

Who better than Tim Murray to shock the Leafs and the hockey world by getting his mitts on Jimmy Vesey.

Or, Vesey can opt to sign with his boyhood favorite team the Boston Bruins where he will compete head to head with Eichel for the next decade.

You can never say never in Hockey Heaven.

**

Tonight marks an auspicious occasion. NHL history can be made if the Detroit Red Wings defeat the Buffalo Sabres and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Winnipeg Jets in regulation or overtime, then all seven Canadian teams will have been officially eliminated from the playoffs.

The only time since the 1917-18 NHL season that there were no Canadian teams in the Stanley Cup playoffs was in 1969-70, when Montreal and Toronto missed the tournament.

Show of hands:

Who in the world saw a highly unusual and unlikely scenario where Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver would all be heading to the golf course or the cottage in mid-April?

Thanks, @RandyNumbers

**

I told you Saturday morning that just because Dan Bylsma was starting rookie bomber Hudson Fasching on the right wing on the fourth line didn't mean that the U Minnesota grad would finish the game there.

I was correct.

Bylsma began the third period with Fasching skating with Johan Larsson and Marcus Foligno. Fasching's speed, strength and skill against the Jets earned him several shifts on the top line with Ryan O'Reilly and Evander Kane.

Bylsma told media on Monday afternoon .will follow the same modus operandi tonight.

"I liked all of Hudson's game," Bylsma said. "I think being on the road, he'll see time there throughout the game tonight as well as Deslauriers."

Here are your lines:

Kane – O'Reilly– Deslauriers Girgensons – Eichel – Reinhart Foligno – Larsson – Gionta Moulson – Legwand – Fasching

Gorges – Ristolainen McCabe – Bogosian Pysyk – Nelson

Johnson Lieuwen

**

Future Sabres captain Ryan O'Reilly has been voted by members from the Buffalo chapter of the Pro Hockey Writers Association as the Sabres' nominee for the 2016 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, given annually to the NHL player "who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey."

Marcus Foligno finished second in the balloting and Robin Lehner finished third.

"O'Reilly has become a de facto captain in the locker room and on the ice," wrote The Buffalo News.

O'Reilly has led his teammates young and old by example since he first showed up to skate in non-formal shinny matches in August 2015. He is the first man on the ice and the last man to leave at the end of practices. His "O'Reilly Practices" have become the thing of legend. ROR runs his own post-practice skills and drills sessions long after Dan Bylsm and his coaches leave the ice. Tim Murray commented earlier this season that O'Reilly's extra curricular skates are the reason why his work days start late because GMTM sits and watches each of those sessions and he charts the progress of the youngsters like Samson Reinhart, Jack Eichel, Jake McCabe and others.

Each of the 29 NHL clubs will have one nominee for the award, which will be given at the NHL Awards Show in Las Vegas in June.

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