This player had his chance to play with the New Jersey Devils. They would be wise to not go backwards and try to get him now.
The New Jersey Devils are in an interesting spot going into this offseason. There were a lot of injuries and poor performances that led to them taking a step back in 2018-19 after a really solid 2017-18. Now, they are going to make the first overall selection at the 2019 NHL Draft, look to extend Taylor Hall, and improve the team to have sustained success.
A few years ago they wanted to add Harvard forward Jimmy Vesey to their group of young players coming in. They pursued him all summer and the way Vesey was talked about, you would have thought he was a superstar free agent looking to cash in but he was an unproven talent coming out of college.
Vesey was very good in college. So good that he won the Hobey Baker award as the top player in the country. He decided not to sign with the team that drafted him and became a free agent. The Devils were in the mix to get him but fell short to who else but the New York Rangers.
Well, how the tables have turned. Now there are reports that Vesey will not be in a Rangers sweater in 2019-20. The New Jersey Devils should stay away from this guy. He has been a good player but for sure did not live up to the hype of his free agent tour.
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He certainly hasn’t been a terrible player in the NHL but he just doesn’t’t have a spot in the Devils top six and he’s not the kind of guy you “make room” for. In 240 NHL games he has 50 goals and 40 assists for 90 points. Those aren’t terrible but the Devils can find someone better. His -37 might also something about his defensive game but he was mainly on bad Ranger teams so that doesn’t help.
It would be much more optimal to give a guy like Jesper Boqvist a chance at second line LW, or if any other prospect comes in and makes an impact. Or perhaps they make a different trade, but going for Vesey just seems to be going backwards. He had his chance to play with Taylor Hall and Nico Hischier as teammates but he chose the bright lights.
Maybe it is just pure dislike for him choosing the Rangers instead of the Devils when he left Harvard, but there just seem to be better options outside of Vesey in the trade market. There are also better free agents out there, but you don’t want to give out bad contracts either. It will be interesting to see how Ray Shero handles all of this.