Happy Easter to you and your families. Savor the day.
While you and your families are celebrating this most sacred of days, Nashville Predators GM David Poile will continue his Easter egg hun to to sign Jimmy Vesey.
Vesey's NCAA career ended Friday night when Harvard was eliminated by Boston College in the NCAA Frozen Four tournament.
Vesey, a third round pick of the Preds in 2012, is now given the green light to sign an entry-level contract and begin his NHL career.
The Vesey camp has been quiet on Vesey's whereabouts and intentions.
Will he sign his entry level deal with the Preds and play with them now and in the playoffs?
Or, will Vesey opt to skip signing with the Preds so that he can become an unrestricted free agent on August 15?
Only Vesey can answer that question right now.
On Saturday night, before their tilt with the Columbus Blue Jax, the Preds PR staff issued the following statement concerning Vesey.
"Nashville Predators representatives, including general manager David Poile, were in Worcester, Massachusetts, last night to watch Harvard's NCAA Tournament game against Boston College," the statement said. "Jimmy's exceptional college career came to a close as Harvard was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament.
"At some point over the next several days, David and Predators hockey personnel plan to meet with Jimmy, his family and his representatives to discuss and reinforce his opportunities to begin his NHL career with the Predators in the immediate future."
Vesey completed his NCAA career with 80 goals in 128 games, including 24 this season and an NCAA-leading 32 last season. The Predators, who selected the 22-year-old in the third round of the 2012 draft, have regularly assured him that a spot in their lineup on one of their top forward lines is his if he joins them.
Nashville owns Vesey's rights through August 15, however, he can become UFA and sign an entry-level contract with whichever team he chooses to play with if he hasn't agreed to terms with the Predators by then.
I have to question the methods of the Preds to issue a media release to inform the public that they are workng to get Vesey signed. Why is Poile telling us what his intentions are for Vesey? Nobody is doubting Poile's efforts to sign Vesey.
Do you want my two sense on the Vesey matter?
I get the distinct impression that he is preparing his fan base and team constituents for the inevitable departure of Vesey. Teams being linked to Vesey are the Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs.
“I know there’s been a lot of conversations,… Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. "Right now, we deal with this on a daily basis. We’re hopeful that Jimmy comes to us. We’d be excited to have him. He’s a really good prospect, and now that his season’s over, he’s going to have to make those decisions. But we would be excited if he signed a contract to come to play for us."