Buffalo Sabres Should Have Passed On Jimmy Vesey

The Buffalo Sabres may not have given up much for this kid’s rights, but anything is too much when it comes to a situation like this.

All right: I’ve taken a few days to sleep on the trade that sent a third-round pick to Nashville just so the Buffalo Sabres could acquire the rights to Jimmy Vesey.

I’ve read FanSided NHL Division Director Tim Redinger’s thoughts on why it should not bother fans that the Sabres gave up a third-round pick in order to sit down with this kid.

I’ve tried to justify this gamble by entertaining thoughts of the Buffalo Sabres parading Lord Stanley’s Cup through the streets of Buffalo in a grand victory parade.

I have done all that and more . . . and I still cannot shake the feeling that the Buffalo Sabres have made a mistake by making a play for this kid.

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Look: Jimmy Vesey is a talented player. Could be a great kid. It’s entirely understandable why Sabres fans are dreaming of a Vesey – Jack Eichel – Sam Reinhart line. I get it – two Hobey Baker Award winners on the same line, alongside Reinhart, who had almost as good a 2015-16 season as Eichel did. Everyone’s thinking about Buffalo becoming the next city to pull a Cleveland and bring a major sport championship into the 716.

That’s all well and good, but have we all forgotten about Jonathan Drouin, the kid who tried to strong-arm the Tampa Bay Lightning into trading him this season? I seem to recall a number of Sabres fans remarking that they would not want a kid like Drouin playing for the Sabres, because of his attempts to force his way out of a situation he didn’t like. When a young player such as Drouin tries to play hardball, despite the fact that he really has not earned the right to dictate the terms of his employment just yet, that player comes across as entitled, the reason why people feel the need to remind everyone that there is no “I” in “team.”

People applauded Lightning GM Steve Yzerman for refusing to be manipulated by Drouin and his agent, and in the long run, being banished to Tampa Bay’s AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, and then suspended for refusing to report, wound up being just the kick in the ass that Drouin needed, as he turned in an inspiring performance in Tampa Bay’s playoff run.

So if people were turned off by Drouin’s power play and supportive of Yzerman’s refusal to bow down to a still-unproven player, why are they suddenly onboard the Jimmy Vesey bandwagon?

And don’t tell me that college players snubbing the team that drafted them and becoming UFAs is a trend that we all have to get used to – this doesn’t happen in any other professional sport in North America (not to my knowledge, that is) and it doesn’t have to happen in the NHL. The league and the players union need to get together and find a way to keep this sort of power play from happening, but in the meantime, teams such as the Buffalo Sabres need to stop rewarding young players who have done nothing at the professional level from enjoying a perk that is not even enjoyed by players who have put in three years!

Think about that for a moment: Jack Eichel, who played 81 games in his rookie season, will not be able to enjoy the perks of being an RFA until the end of the 2017-18 season. If we assume that the Sabres sign Eichel to a long-term contract (say five years or longer) in the summer of 2018, when will Eichel be able to enjoy the freedom of being a UFA – 2023? At the earliest?

And Sabres fans are okay going after a college kid who is demanding the perks of being a UFA NOW? All because he might help the Sabres become a playoff team? Drouin had the same potential, and most fans would not have touched him with a 20-foot pole. Cheering that the Sabres might convince Vesey to play for Buffalo is extremely hypocritical, and I just can’t get excited over this.

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I understand that even as a UFA, Jimmy Vesey will only be allowed to sign an entry-level contract, but this whole thing stinks to me, even if it is allowed by the current CBA. Vesey may well become the next Jack Eichel, but I have a really difficult time endorsing his power play just months after condemning Drouin for trying to pull a stunt that is incredibly similar. If NHL teams such as the Buffalo Sabres continue to allow players like Vesey to skip the draft and dictate where they begin their careers, then yes, this will be a trend moving forward. It doesn’t have to be, though, and it doesn’t feel right applauding Buffalo’s pursuit of a player simply because “It’s my team.” It wasn’t right when Drouin did it months ago, it wasn’t right when Eric Lindros refused to play for the Quebec Nordiques way back in 1991, and it’s not right that Jimmy Vesey has strong-armed his way out of Nashville and is looking to become a free agent on August 15.

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