Confirmed Trade: [BUF/NAS] Jimmy Vesey's Draft Rights for 2016 3rd (#76) Part III

[Der Jaeger]

I still think Vesey will sign with his home town Bruins regardless what the rumor mill is spitting out lately. But let's look at where Vesey would fit into the top-6 with the teams of the latest rumor.

NJ:
Taylor Hall - Adam Henrique - Beau Bennett
Jimmy Vesey - Travis Zajak - Kyle Palmieri

NYR:
Chris Kreider - Derek Stepan - Rick Nash
Jimmy Vesey - Mika Zibanejad - Mats Zuccarello

Chi:
Jimmy Vesey - Jonathan Toews - Patrick Kane
Artemi Panarin - Artem Anisimov - Nick Schmaltz


Which gives him the best chance for big stats?

Vesey - Eichel - Reinhart
Girgensons - O'Reilly - Okposo

That's as good of a top 6 as it gets for the long-term.

 

[CaptainSexyPants]

Vesey - Eichel - Reinhart
Girgensons - O'Reilly - Okposo

That's as good of a top 6 as it gets for the long-term.

'As good as it gets' is a bit of a strech.

 

[kmwtrucks]

If Vesey signs in Chicago I'm sure Bowman, who really does take care of his players, would have to give him a verbal Limited NTC. Look at what he did for Kruger. Kruger takes a 1 year contract about 500-1000 under value to help the hawks out and he gets hurt for a full year and gets a 3 year 3.1 dollar deal? If the hawks aren't good to there players they would have just traded him away and let someone else sign him at 2.25 for 3 years. Also a lot can change in 2 years. Is hossa still around? does the Looney rebound and we get to 80 mil in salary cap.

 

[Gardner McKay]

If Vesey signs in Chicago I'm sure Bowman, who really does take care of his players, would have to give him a verbal Limited NTC. Look at what he did for Kruger. Kruger takes a 1 year contract about 500-1000 under value to help the hawks out and he gets hurt for a full year and gets a 3 year 3.1 dollar deal? If the hawks aren't good to there players they would have just traded him away and let someone else sign him at 2.25 for 3 years. Also a lot can change in 2 years. Is hossa still around? does the Looney rebound and we get to 80 mil in salary cap.

A lot of wishful thinking on your part. I can't see Vesey taking a risk like that based on what has been said thus far.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

Vesey has only spoken to Buffalo. The only confirmed teams that Vesey will speak to are Boston and Chicago. In the article I posted earlier, most scouts from the area speculated that NYR was on the list too. NJ, PIT, TOR are mainly speculated among reporters currently. Garth Snow is currently watching him.

I compiled three threads in a few words.

 

[Der Jaeger]

'As good as it gets' is a bit of a strech.

For the long term? That's part of the original line I wrote, and that's not a stretch.

Eichel is a legitimate #1 center in the making and will be a future top five center in the league for a long time.

Reinhart is also a legit #1 center in the making. He'll be in the conversation for best #2 center in the league in a few years.

O'Reilly is a good #1 center right now and having him on the second line works perfect for the Sabres. Really good 200-foot player and the future captain of the team.

Okposo brings power and scoring. Girgensons is a glue guy who plays a responsible game, plays with grit, and enables the offense.

Those five featuring a developed Eichel and Reinhart is comparable to any top 6 in 2 years.

 

[COHawk]

A lot of wishful thinking on your part. I can't see Vesey taking a risk like that based on what has been said thus far.

Let's hope so. Would really be great if he performed well in camp and could slide in on the top line to give Toews the LW he's been missing.

 

[Eric Sachs]

Vesey has only spoken to Buffalo. The only confirmed teams that Vesey will speak to are Boston and Chicago. In the article I posted earlier, most scouts from the area speculated that NYR was on the list too. NJ, PIT, TOR are mainly speculated among reporters currently. Garth Snow is currently watching him.

I compiled three threads in a few words.

NJ's supposed connections are a bit deeper than that but good overall summary. Shero was watching him last night as well but the main NJ connection is via our Assistant GM Fitzgerald. The Fitzgerald and Vesey family are supposedly really close and the kids all grew up together.

I think there's lots of ******** out there about who's on his list and there's no real way of knowing until August 16th. I imagine teams do know already if they will be talking to him (let's be real, agents and GMs talk even when they aren't allowed to contractually) but no-one outside of Vesey's camp knows any sort of pecking order. I'd still rate it likely that he signs with one of the teams you mentioned, purely because those are most of the ones in the Northeast + all teams he has connections too.

I don't put much stock into what scouts think Vesey is thinking. Speculation about speculation isn't really useful. Learning about various connections he has is at least a little more telling to me but those aren't really unique to any specific clubs either. He knows alot of NHL players and execs given his time in college, his father's career, etc.

 

[Toews2Bickell]

Hawks are having JToews part of the process next week. Bring Kane too. Bring everyone.

 

[TheBlackFish]

Vesey - Eichel - Reinhart
Girgensons - O'Reilly - Okposo

That's as good of a top 6 as it gets for the long-term.

I think this would be better:
Vesey-Giroux-Voracek
Schenn-Couturier-Simmonds

Flyers actually have everything the kid could want. Zero top 6 LWs in the system, likely a top 5 D for the next decade, a healthy cap once his ELC is up, best playmaking C-RW duo in the league to get passes from, competitive now and in the future. Only downside is his favorite team "used to be" a rival. Flyers would be a smart decision but I think we'll be saying I told you so 3 years from now when he's decaying in Boston or being shipped out of Chicago.

 

[rangers1314]

Roy out in Colorado.

 

[JaegerDice]

Is Adrian Dater a good source? He says it's down to Chicago and Toronto...

 

[Irishguy42]

Is Adrian Dater a good source? He says it's down to Chicago and Toronto...

No, he isn't.

 

[CaptainSexyPants]

For the long term? That's part of the original line I wrote, and that's not a stretch.

Eichel is a legitimate #1 center in the making and will be a future top five center in the league for a long time.

Reinhart is also a legit #1 center in the making. He'll be in the conversation for best #2 center in the league in a few years.

O'Reilly is a good #1 center right now and having him on the second line works perfect for the Sabres. Really good 200-foot player and the future captain of the team.

Okposo brings power and scoring. Girgensons is a glue guy who plays a responsible game, plays with grit, and enables the offense.

Those five featuring a developed Eichel and Reinhart is comparable to any top 6 in 2 years.

Eh, IMO most of that is pretty wishful thinking. The bolded especially. Everyone would have to hit their ceiling for it to be true.

Eichel should certainly be a great #1C but 'top 5 for years' is a bit much to say with any certainty at this point.
Reinhart's played 1 season at a 40 point pace so I don't think you can call him a 'legit #1C in the making' and 'in the conversation for best #2C in the league in a few years'.
Okposo and Girgensons are nothing all that special, and Vesey himself hasn't exactly proven he's an elite NHL'er.

Nothing against that top 6 though; it would certainly have the potential to be great.

 

[Dubi Doo]

Reading Vesey's agent say he's also looking at how a team handles a player's second or third contract may hurt Chicago and Boston's chances.

 

[HawkeyTalkMan]

Reading Vesey's agent say he's also looking at how a team handles a player's second or third contract may hurt Chicago and Boston's chances.

Well there is a catch 22 in no matter what team he chooses.

Boston, NYR, Chicago are better bets right now to compete and do well but in a few years time might still have cap issues or cost control him too much

Toronto, NJD, Buffalo have the money and space to pay him now and down the line, but are in no condition to compete for anything for a few years.

He is going to have to choose how patient he is willing to be on when he can compete with a team

 

[Soon2B25]

I can't remember this much hype over a college FA since Justin Schultz and Mike Reilly.

Don't know how Vesey will turn out as a pro but people need to be reminded, the NHL is a league where it is truly impossible to project how young players will succeed.
For every over-hyped can't miss prospect, there is an over-achieving draft longshot like Brendan Gallagher.

Still think he is being overhandled on this one.

 

[Mjul Qvist]

Reading Vesey's agent say he's also looking at how a team handles a player's second or third contract may hurt Chicago and Boston's chances.

Well he can look at how Toews, Kane, Crawford, Seabrook etc. are doing?

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

Well he can look at how Toews, Kane, Crawford, Seabrook etc. are doing?

Did you even understand what he wrote?

 

[TGWL]

Reading Vesey's agent say he's also looking at how a team handles a player's second or third contract may hurt Chicago and Boston's chances.

We're golden!

 

[Kitchener Boy]

Reading Vesey's agent say he's also looking at how a team handles a player's second or third contract may hurt Chicago and Boston's chances.

How is that going to hurt Chicago and Boston?

Toews for example got a ridiculously expensive contract.
Krejci and Krug got payed.

 

[Territory]

Will be happy if he decides on Toronto, but if he chooses someone else I'll get over it real fast.

If he doesn't pick Toronto, I hope its Boston. Cause I'm sick of Free agents always choosing Chicago or NYR. And I like seeing Buffalo get shafted all the time.

 

[Territory]

How is that going to hurt Chicago and Boston?

Toews for example got a ridiculously expensive contract.
Krejci and Krug got payed.

Kessel, Seguin, Saad, Leddy, etc.

 

[Greg Schuler]

I can't remember this much hype over a college FA since Justin Schultz and Mike Reilly.

Don't know how Vesey will turn out as a pro but people need to be reminded, the NHL is a league where it is truly impossible to project how young players will succeed.
For every over-hyped can't miss prospect, there is an over-achieving draft longshot like Brendan Gallagher.

Still think he is being overhandled on this one.

This is a rare enough circumstance that teams will get "excited" about it. Free talent with some upside is a rare commodity, especially when the bonus structure is the only real negotiation to take place.

Vesey might turn out like Kevin Hayes or maybe Blake Wheeler. Or he might bust. Since it only takes a contract to find out, and that contract is largely templated, why not? If Vesey flops or under performs, there are mechanisms to remove him from the team. If he proves to be a steady NHL player, so be it.

From a team standpoint, I would be concerned about the second and third contract comments, if they are true. Teams, like businesses, should think long term, but never plan long term. Players earn their next contracts. The way I read those comments, Vesey is basically telling teams not to bridge him after his entry level deal (which assumes Vesey plays well enough to earn more than a short term deal). It's hubrus, pure and simple.

At 23 going on 24, Vesey will show what he is very quickly and there might not be a lot of ceiling left. It is part of the reason he is concerned about those follow on contracts - he'll need to make his money in the middle age of his career.

 

[TimeZone]

So, as a Leafs fan, you don't care whether we get a player who would be our fourth best prospect?

You don't care if we improve upon the players we have?

Personally, I'd like our team, and it's future to improve by all means necessary, but I respect those whose opinion differs, even if they don't want our team to improve.

Who says he would be our fourth best prospect, you? I'm not buying the hype. Posts like this are what lead to unrealistic expectations. I'd certainly rank Zaitsev ahead of him in our prospect pool at the very least.