New Jersey Devils are reportedly a darkhorse to sign Jimmy Vesey

The New Jersey Devils are reportedly one of the top three teams in the mix to sign Jimmy Vesey when he becomes an unrestricted free agent on August 15th.

Could the New Jersey Devils offense get even better before the 2016-17 season begins?  According to a report from CSN New England, the Devils are one of three teams Jimmy Vesey is considering, along with the Rangers and Blackhawks.

Vesey was a 3rd-round pick for Nashville in 2012 and was considered their top prospect until he informed the team that he had no interest in playing for the Predators this past season. Under the NHL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, a team has four years to sign college draftees.  If an agreement is not reached, the player can become a free agent after their senior year.  The Predators subsequently traded Vesey’s rights to Buffalo on June 20, 2016.  Those rights will expire tomorrow, August 15th, and he will be free to sign with any team.

Vesey is an appealing prospect, so it’s no surprise that a number of NHL teams are interested.  The 23-year-old winger had 56 goals and 104 points in 70 games with Harvard over his last two seasons. After spending four years with the Crimson, scouts expect Vesey to be able to contribute on an NHL roster right away.

It’s intriguing to see a young player like this still available this late in the offseason. I’ll be honest, I originally didn’t think the Devils would be in the mix at all, especially after Ray Shero made it clear that they were holding off on signing any other players outside of the organization. A lot of this is hearsay from the media, but, one thing is for sure, the Devils are in fact are very interested. Ray Shero was in Foxboro, MA to watch Vesey play this past week.

The Devils have been dubbed as a darkhorse candidate to land Vesey, according to an NHL scout and speculation from the media in New England.  Vesey is from Massachusetts and played his college hockey in Boston (Cambridge, technically).  The Devils assistant GM, Tom Fitzgerald, has been a big part of the Boston hockey community for a long time.  He also apparently has ties to the Vesey family; Jimmy’s father, Jim, is from Charlestown, MA and both played college hockey in the Hockey East.  Don’t forget, Devils’ head coach John Hynes played his college hockey at Boston University and is from New England as well.  As someone who went to college in Boston (Northeastern), I can tell you that these local ties do mean something.

Does New Jersey make sense as a landing spot for Vesey?  Actually, it does.  What he wants is a good fit and the opportunity to play in a top-6 role right away.  Although Vesey is a natural left winger with a lefty shot, the Devils do have an open position at right wing on their top two lines.  Kyle Palmieri obviously take the top spot and Devante Smith-Pelly will get a chance to fill the other vacancy, but he really belongs on the third line.  Jimmy Vesey could fill in nicely instead if he’s willing to play right wing.  It’s not to say that he wouldn’t get an opportunity at left wing either, we all know how injury-prone and old Mike Cammalleri is. The Devils are still in a rebuilding year where they could definitely give him big minutes right away, not to mention he would fit the fast and attacking style that John Hynes is using AND help on the power play.

Another factor to consider is that Vesey can only sign an entry-level maximum contract for a base salary of $925,000, with potential bonuses.  There will be no bidding war. It’s a low-risk, high-reward deal if Ray Shero can pull it off.  They won’t have to overpay Vesey to get him to come to New Jersey.  They will also have the cap room to sign him to a bigger deal in the future if it all works out, which teams like the Rangers and Blackhawks do not.

When it comes down to it, Vesey has never played an NHL game before, so there’s no promises that his game will even translate to the pro level just yet. The Devils have done a nice job rebuilding their offense by acquiring Taylor Hall and locking up Palmieri long-term. They still could use more scoring punch though, and have the room to add Vesey to their top-6.  He would be a useful player even if he doesn’t live up to all this hype, and it’s only going to take a reasonable contract to get him.

Next: Ray Shero is Turning This Franchise Around

The Vesey-to-New Jersey talk is all speculation, as it is with every other team in the mix.   He and his agent have kept tight-lipped until they can begin talking to other teams beginning tomorrow, so it’s tough to tell which way Vesey is leaning just yet.  Obviously, the Devils haven’t been the only team keeping an eye on him, but the fact that Ray Shero made the trip this late in the summer to see him play in person tells me that New Jersey at least has some chance to sign him.  Again, there are no guarantees, but it’s exciting to know that the Devils are near the top of Vesey’s list.