Buffalo Sabres Free Agent Watch: Jimmy Vesey Update

The Buffalo Sabres appear to still be in the running for the reigning Hobey Baker Award-winning forward.

The free agency frenzy may have died off, but the Buffalo Sabres still have one very large fish swimming in the free agency pool: left-winger Jimmy Vesey, whose rights the Sabres acquired from the Nashville Predators in exchange for the 76th pick in this year’s NHL Draft.

Vesey just capped his four-ll numbyear NCAA career by winning the 2016 Hobey Baker Award, so it’s no surprise that the Sabres would use a third-round pick in order to acquire Vesey’s rights, even though Vesey has said over and over again that he fully intends to enjoy the perks of being a free agent come August 15.

The good news, if you see it as such, is that Vesey has decided to meet with the Buffalo Sabres brass today while he is in Boston, playing in the Foxboro Pro League:

Vesey is playing alongside current Buffalo Sabres wunderkid Jack Eichel, and you know Eichel is doing what he can to sway Vesey to come play in the 716.  Regardless, Vesey insists that he still intends on speaking to other teams once August 15 rolls around, and that he has narrowed his interest down to a small number of teams:

Two weeks ago, I made my opinion on Jimmy Vesey known, so I am not going to rehash my thoughts.   I am extremely wary of signing a kid who is already acting like he thinks he is better than he really is, and I mean that in the sense that he has not played one game of professional hockey yet.  Knowing nothing about him personally, I will refrain from ranting too much about him.  Simply put, he seems like a great talent, but the fact that he is playing the system could mean trouble down the road.

Reading through Twitter, it’s interesting to see how people are reacting to the Jimmy Vesey hype train:

Fair or not, Vesey is building up a lot of animosity from fans, probably because it’s tough to watch a player do this even if the current CBA allows it.   Twitter jumped all over me when I tossed my two cents out there about Vesey, but the longer the story drags on, the more selfish the kid looks.  Again, it may not be a fair assessment, but it’s the reality right now.

Next: Sabres Free Agency Grades: Kyle Okposo

Right now, it appears that the Buffalo Sabres, along with the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs, are among the “small number of teams” that Jimmy Vesey is interested in, so if you’re one of the many Sabres fans who hope he will sign with the team, keep your fingers crossed!  At any rate, you’re going to be hearing a lot of speculation about this kid right up until August 15, so you have been warned.