Every season there is one New York Rangers player who is criticized more than his teammates. Of all of them, Jimmy Vesey may not deserve the criticism.
Ryan StromeBrendan SmithA history lesson
First, a history lesson. Jimmy Vesey was a third round draft pick of the Nashville Predators in the 2012 Entry Draft after scoring 48 goals in 43 games in the Eastern Junior Hockey League. He went on to attend Harvard University where he was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award two straight years, winning the award in 2016. He won a gold medal a the WJC in 2013 and was named ECAC Player of the Year in 2014-15. All of these accomplishments made the Predators look prescient for drafting him.
The only problem was, as an unsigned player four years after he was drafted, Vesey was able to become an unrestricted free agent and determine his own destiny. Although he was guaranteed a spot on the Nashville roster by David Poile, he told them he wouldn’t sign.
The Predators got some return for him by trading his rights (while they still had them) to the Sabres for the third round draft pick. Although he negotiated with the Sabres, they couldn’t come to agreement and in the summer of 2016, Vesey became a marquee free agent.