Jimmy Vesey

[Kin]

I said all along that Vesey was being hyped too much. Having great numbers in the NCAA at 22 isn't all that remarkable. If you compare his numbers to someone like St. Louis you'll see a pretty big gap.

It was the equivalent of adding a bonus mid-2nd round pick or thereabouts. It would have been nice to have him but it was never about "needing" him.

 

[Kin]

Weird team to pick. Not exactly a Cup contender. No real great prospects. There's a spot open in their top-6 probably but it's not like Derek Stepan or Mika Zibanejad are big-time sells as centremen. But I guess it's the closest to home without being in Boston.

Honestly, you can never discount just the appeal of living and playing in New York.

There was even a rumor that actor Liam Neeson shot a video, using a line from his movie ?Taken? to get Vesey to come to New York. Vesey would not confirm or deny the Neeson video in a conference call to talk about his decision to go with the Rangers, but ultimately he enjoyed seeing some of the city?s biggest names push for him.

?They were pretty funny and pretty cool that those celebrities were reaching out to me,? Vesey said. ?I don?t think it had a factor in the decision, so to speak, but one of the things I definitely liked about New York was the top-notch lifestyle that the city offers.?

You don't say no to Liam Neesons.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/why-jimmy-vesey-took-the-new-york-rangers-free-agent-pitch-032611915.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

 

[Peter D.]

New York the city is great, New York the team is so unsexy.  They're at the point now there isn't enough there to make a Cup run and they're not bad enough to slip from being a middling team.

 

[Ballardisdead]

Glad we dodged that bullet.  Vesey is a Harvard man.  Anybody here ever meet a Harvard man they liked?  Me neither.

 

[Kin]

New York the city is great, New York the team is so unsexy.  They're at the point now there isn't enough there to make a Cup run and they're not bad enough to slip from being a middling team.

Outside of Chicago(or maybe the Islanders) none of the teams he was interested in  look poised to be serious contenders any time soon. With the Rangers he'll get an immediate top 6 opportunity on a competitive team and the benefits of the City.

The Leafs(and Sabres) might have better long term prospects but that's largely in part due to the fact that they have a lot of good young forwards that would make Vesey's spot of the team an unsure thing. If he'd signed here or in Buffalo he's in a more precarious spot on the depth chart and probably in for more losing than winning until his ELC expires.

 

[Kin]

Glad we dodged that bullet.  Vesey is a Harvard man.  Anybody here ever meet a Harvard man they liked?  Me neither.

I liked Dominic Moore.

 

[bustaheims]

Glad we dodged that bullet.  Vesey is a Harvard man.  Anybody here ever meet a Harvard man they liked?  Me neither.

While I can't say I've ever met Conan O'Brien or Barack Obama, I feel pretty confident in saying I'd enjoy their company.

 

[L K]

This isn't the time during the development of the team or the player to hang your hat on, but I'm looking forward to that culture change where players WANT to come to Toronto. 

 

[Highlander]

Glad we dodged that bullet.  Vesey is a Harvard man.  Anybody here ever meet a Harvard man they liked?  Me neither.

I liked Dominic Moore.

Nik I once again agree with you, I not only liked him but loved him, sorry about his personal loss. Regarding Vesey, F---k him, he is not worth of the blue and white. Just kidding of course

 

[Joe S.]

Why the hate for this guy? He had the opportunity to chose who he wanted to play for and he exercised it... He also said no to a bunch of other teams.

 

[KadriFan]

Why the hate for this guy? He had the opportunity to chose who he wanted to play for and he exercised it... He also said no to a bunch of other teams.

Because he didn't sign with the Leafs.  Had he, this would be a 200 page thread by now.  Can't wait to see Kirby Rychel, our left wing pickup this summer

 

[hockeyfan1]

Why the hate for this guy? He had the opportunity to chose who he wanted to play for and he exercised it... He also said no to a bunch of other teams.

Because he didn't sign with the Leafs.  Had he, this would be a 200 page thread by now.  Can't wait to see Kirby Rychel, our left wing pickup this summer

By the sound of it, Vesey seemed to want to be his own boss.  If he had chosen the Leafs, many might have labeled the word favoritism on him for the fact that his father and brother have a connection in the Leafs organization.  Guess Vesey, considering the fact that he chose the route he chose, ruffled a few feather along the way, and made himself not quite likeable to some hockey fans (such as here).

He obviously had it in mind all along that he wanted to play closer to home and still be on a team where he could be a potential star (the Rangers).  If it had been the Leafs instead, it may not have been such a surefire thing that he would have been a shoo-in to make the team's roster so soon ot to be on a top line, etc

 

[Highlander]

Good post hockeyfan1, it is right on. I have no feeling one way or the other, wish him luck, and hope his dogma has not run over his karma, a la Lindros.
Hey its a tough world about to get a lot tougher and you gotta to the best you can for yourself.
I personally think Vesey may have had some trouble making the Leafs with our prospect pool.
This probably factored more in his decision more than we can appreciate, if this was two years ago, he would have been ours. 

 

[herman]

http://sabres.buffalonews.com/2016/08/20/few-came-off-well-during-vesey-watch/

The circus tents that surrounded Vesey were pitched outside of Buffalo. The Sabres never really had a chance in this race and, from an outside view, the amount of tampering that had to be taking place in recent weeks looks ridiculous.

Let?s not forget this important point: Vesey was not a free agent until midnight on Tuesday. He was Sabres property until then. But that didn?t stop agents Peter Fish and Peter Donatelli from doing numerous media interviews the last month espousing the virtues of what it would be like for Vesey to play in Boston, or in Chicago, or (hmmm) in New York.

That?s shameful stuff right there. The agents should know better.

This guy can never seem to get a win, and seems to still be mad about Babcock.

I found a candid picture of him on the internet.

 

[Kin]

Just such a complete and total crock of BS. Vesey was never under contract to a NHL team. He was never any team's property.

Also from the article:

The Jimmy Vesey Watch was alternately baffling, fascinating and infuriating. We?ve really never seen anything like it before and, frankly, that?s probably a good thing. There was a lot not to like in this whole situation.

....

Vesey better be a star next season. Good luck to him. New teammate Kevin Hayes and Pittsburgh defenseman Justin Schultz went this route as well, with Schultz getting plenty of hype, too. They?re average players. Vesey better be a lot more than average.

There is no difference between this and the Schultz situation.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

It genuinely bums me out that Mike Harrington basically has a job for life (or until the Buffalo News files for bankruptcy). He'll never be fired for writing this type of garbage or acting the way he does on his twitter account.

 

[herman]

It genuinely bums me out that Mike Harrington basically has a job for life (or until the Buffalo News files for bankruptcy). He'll never be fired for writing this type of garbage or acting the way he does on his twitter account.

I do believe it is encouraged/mandatory behaviour. He certainly drew my eyeballs.

 

[Kin]

There's just something so ugly about some bitter old sportswriter in his 50's crapping on some kid making his first professional decision. Aside from the pretty direct cheap shots calling Vesey stupid, there's also the implication that if Vesey somehow stumbles in his pro career Harrington is going to hold him to the standard of hype that Harrington himself created.

And it just shows the ridiculous standards players are held to in that regard. Harrington says he should have signed with Nashville(who spent lots of "time and money" developing Vesey...how?) and that this process puts extra pressure on Vesey to be great. But how? If Vesey was destined to be a decent but unspectacular player what benefit would he get in Nashville he wouldn't in New York? Would Nashville treat him better somehow? Or does Harrington imagine Vesey sad because he'd be missing out on all of the sweet, sweet adulation that Mike Harrington would be bestowing on an unimpressive player for the team that drafted him?

That's how it always goes in these situations. The media creates the hype, then they hold players accountable for the hype they created. Never forget, bitter old sports journalists are the worst.

 

[bustaheims]

It genuinely bums me out that Mike Harrington basically has a job for life (or until the Buffalo News files for bankruptcy). He'll never be fired for writing this type of garbage or acting the way he does on his twitter account.

If the Sabres hadn't given away a 3rd round pick here, you can bet he wouldn't have written anything close to that negative about Vesey or the situation. He's totally just butthurt that the team he follows gave up an asset for nothing (or, he's the mouthpiece for the team that gave up an asset for nothing - I'm not sure if there's really a difference).

 

[L K]

It's a good thing Blake Wheeler never existed in this timeline, otherwise Mike Harrington would look quite the fool.