New York Rangers: Ranking the importance of the upcoming restricted free agents

One of the Ranger’s several college free agent signings, Jimmy Vesey is a difficult situation.

Of the several pending restricted free agents the Rangers have, Vesey is the most up in the air. The Harvard alumnus does not do anything great but is not a bad hockey player by any stretch of the imagination. This is where the difficulty in a contract negotiation will come in for the Rangers.

Coming to an agreement with a restricted free agent is like choreographing a dance. It takes two to make everything work and the Rangers still cannot be sure about what they have in Vesey. Through two NHL seasons, he has produced at the rate of a low-end third line wing.

When the forward was signed as a free agent out of college, he came with a marquee pedigree. Vesey won the Hobey Baker award as college hockey’s most outstanding player as a junior in college for his goal-scoring prowess. At the NHL level, he has not been able to find a consistent scoring touch and it has capped his production at around 30 points.

Of the five important restricted free agents the Rangers have, Vesey is the most likely to end up with a bridge deal. Players of Vesey’s caliber are easily available in free agency every summer, so a large financial commitment would not make sense. Whatever the Rangers decide to do with Vesey will not be the most important choice this summer