The New York Rangers are moving forward in a start of a new era. Last season was an unmitigated disaster for the Rangers, as they looked like a lost team following their 2024 Eastern Conference Finals. It resulted in players being dealt away and Peter Laviolette being fired as head coach after just two years on the job.
One player who was not traded at the deadline was Jimmy Vesey, who was openly unhappy with his role, or lack thereof, on the team. Now, Vesey is playing in Switzerland on Geneve-Servette of the Swiss National League after not receiving a firm offer from any of the 32 NHL teams. He spoke with the Morning Cuppa Hockey podcast and talked about the tail-end of his second Rangers tenure, and said due to his diminished role, he tried his best to get off of the team. Vesey even said he requested a trade off of the Rangers a month before publicly voicing his displeasure with the team.
“I was trying to get out. That’s how I’d phrase it,” Vesey said, h/t Forever Blueshirts. “I actually asked for a trade in December, in hopes that … I was just trying to go somewhere sooner rather than later so that I could just get myself in the mix and establish myself more than going at the deadline.”
Jimmy Vesey reveals he requested trade from Rangers a month before public comments
The reasoning behind requesting a trade last December was so he could help improve his chances of signing a contract in the offseason. He was dealing an injury through training camp, played a bit before being benched.
Vesey made notable public comments back in January expressing his displeasure over his role on the team in an interview with Larry Brooks of the New York Post.
“It seems that I’ve fallen out of favor and have just been cast aside over an extended period of time,”“It feels like I have no role or purpose on this team… “I’m kind of dying by being here," said Vesey.
Ultimately, Vesey was traded to the Colorado Avalanche at the trade deadline in March, along with Ryan Lindgren, in exchange for Juuso Parssinen and Calvin de Haan.
"It didn’t happen until March, so that kind of sucked for me," said Vesey. "By the time I got to Colorado, it felt like I hadn’t play a lot all year, and, obviously, they had a lot of bodies come in at the deadline and a lot of bodies already in place.
“I guess I was pretty spot on with what I said, but now I’m out of the League, so …”
Vesey played in just 10 regular season games for the Avalanche, where he notched one goal and one assist in an average ice time of 10:34. Vesey didn't play in any of Colorado's playoff games.
In his second stint with the Rangers, Vesey really found a role as a bottom six forward who can kill penalties. But last season, he just fell out of favor with the team. Vesey wanted out. He got his wish, but it happened much later than he would have liked.