As reported by the Boston Herald, Vesey’s father Jim, who is and ex-Bruin, was surprised by the trade to Buffalo because Jimmy plans to see all available offers.
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Tim Murray revealed that even though they have the rights to Jimmy Vesey, they can’t actually sign him until after July 1. Murray added, “That’s been their plan”. Murray indicated that he views Vesey as a top six player and believes that is part of what makes Buffalo a good fit. If so, it’s a win-win situation for both sides as Vesey could very well turn out to be a line mate of Jack Eichel for years to come and the Predators received some type of compensation for Vesey simply not wanting to sign with the team that drafted him in 2012 and to all indications courted him like an actual prince. Not only do they have the last two winners of the Hobey Baker Award, they also have Eichel’s BU teammate Evan Rodrigues and Hudson Fasching coming up through the ranks.
Fish’s statements go beyond the comments his partner, Peter Donatelli, issued to ESPN.com immediately following the trade.
“In our opinion, the only thing that has happened is now the Sabres have stepped into the shoes of Nashville for exclusive rights until August 15”, Donatelli was quoted as saying.
Since then, 29 other National Hockey League teams expected to get a shot at the high-scoring winger out of Harvard once he becomes a free agent August 15.
Murray said that it’s all about quality. “They haven’t sat down and talked to us, so for me it’s like a college free agent recruiting process”. The Sabres oriented source sites Vesey’s connections with Jack Eichel as being the real driving force to acquiring the skater on a permanent deal. He captained the Harvard Varsity team in his senior year and joined the United States of America team at the IIHF World Championships.
Anaheim acquired the 30th overall pick in the upcoming draft and a second-round choice in 2017 for Andersen, who has shared the Ducks’ crease with John Gibson for the past two seasons.
The extra selection marks the Predators eighth in this weekend’s draft, held at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo. Right now, the Sabres have a little over $21 million in cap space, and they still need to negotiate with RFAs Rasmus Ristolainen, Jake McCabe, Zemgus Girgensons, Marcus Foligno and Casey Nelson.
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Murray said that he and the Sabres have not had conversation about a Stamkos offer. Yet. “I would be a tool not to”, Murray said with a laugh. Using the phrase “at this time” gives them the flexibility to go back on this statement and say the Sabres wowed him into signing if that does end up being the outcome. “We made a big jump past year”, Murray said.
