The New York Rangers stayed relatively quiet over the free agency period this summer.
On Friday, the Rangers made one big splash to give their roster youth, speed and talent when they signed free agent Jimmy Vesey.
A graduate of Harvard University, Vesey was drafted in 2012 by the Nashville Predators who, after failing to sign him traded his rights to Buffalo who were equally disappointed.
Tuesday of this past week Vesey became an unrestricted free agent with nearly all 30 NHL clubs playing the role of suitor.
“It definitely took on a life of its own, so to speak. I’m not sure that me or anyone else expected that, but that’s not something I signed up for,” Vesey said on NHL.com. “If you talk to anyone that knows me, I’m a quiet kid and I really had no intentions of it getting such a media craze. It was pretty hectic at times, so I’m just glad that the process is over now.”
Rangers’ general manager Jeff Gorton and director of player development Chris Drury met with Vesey and his team on Wednesday.
“I’d say that when we left the room, I would say that we felt really comfortable that we had a real good meeting, that we were able to touch on a lot of points that we wanted to,” Gorton said on NHL.com. “I just thought that we had a connection with the young man.
“I was glad to see the caller ID and see the Boston number. I hurried to answer it. When he said, ‘Hi, it’s Jimmy Vesey and I made my decision and I’d like to come to New York,’ I probably swore. I can’t remember exactly what I did, but I’d say I had a pretty exciting comeback for him. I probably can’t say it in public.”
Vesey is 23 and comes off a good career at Harvard where he collected 24 goals and 46 points in 33 games his senior season.
“I think I like to play a little bit of a mix between a power forward and a skilled forward,” Vesey said. “I think that my offensive instincts would definitely be the strong suit of my game.”
Fellow Massachusetts native Kevin Hayes was instrumental in wooing Vesey to the Rangers’ side.
“He’s someone I’ve known since childhood,” Vesey said of Hayes. “We played a little bit together growing up, and we work out together and skate in the summer. I’ve talked to Kevin a lot and he went through the same process as me two years ago, so I leaned a lot on him during the process. I think he definitely had a big impact on me. I’m also familiar with (Rangers forward) Chris Kreider from being from Massachusetts, and then Chris Drury was someone that I was really impressed with during the meeting with the Rangers and he’s someone that I respect a lot based on what he’s done in his career.
“There was definitely some ties to New England and my home, but I think that was just one of many factors in the decision.”
Vesey is a player the Rangers have needed for quite some time given the loss of production from big name veterans like Rick Nash the past seasons.
The sudden ability to plug in a top-tier talent into the lineup should head coach Alain Vigneault fewer sleepless nights this coming season.
“There’s no guarantees in sports obviously, but I feel that New York is somewhere that I can plug in right away and play and hopefully stick in the NHL,” Vesey said on NHL.com. “It’s obviously not just going to be given to me; I’m going to have to put in the work and perform on the ice. But I thought New York was somewhere that I could plug in right away and be on the opening night roster.”
The Vesey signing may also give the Rangers more options in the trade market ahead of the new season.
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