Factors in favor of the Rangers landing highly touted prospect, Jimmy Vesey

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Vesey (Boston Herald)

When it comes to young free agent prizes, Jimmy Vesey is at the top of the list for many teams. His rights are currently held by the Buffalo Sabres and he will be heavily courted by many teams.

The Blackhawks, Bruins, Leafs and of course the Rangers are on the list. Considering teams can only give him an entry level contract, the deciding factors will likely be what his immediate and future role with the team will be.

On Puck Daddy’s blog, Vesey’s agent said. “It’s going to be up to the teams to sell him. … Yes, [we have criteria], but we’re interested in what the teams say rather than telling the teams what they have to say.”

How Will The Rangers Pitch to Vesey?

I think it will be similar to the pitch they made to Kevin Hayes two years ago. The Rangers do have room to pencil him into the starting lineup. Should they opt to trade Rick Nash, he could even get top 6 minutes (if he can handle it).

Vesey will also be very comfortable on the Rangers as he has friendships already on the team. One being the aforementioned, Kevin Hayes.

Vesey/Hayes (Twitter)

Vesey/Hayes (Twitter)

Knowing someone is always great for comfortability but the Rangers need to show him that he could be a major piece going forward. If Vesey is as good as everyone is saying, then that will be no problem here.

The Rangers are simply starving for young talent.

The Gorton Connection

Puck Daddy also posted a big reveal that came from ESPN:

Craig Custance of ESPN.com added some fuel to this fire, noting that Vesey’s primary agent Peter Fish is tight with Rangers GM Jeff Gorton:

“I know Jeff very well. I have a lot of respect for Jeff,” Fish said. “Certainly, whenever I have a free agent in any aspect of hockey, Jeff would be one of the first people I call.”

Fish also represented Chris Drury, who is the Rangers’ director of player development, and remains close with Drury.

When you take this into consideration as well as the friendship and opportunity above, you would think this would be a Rangers’ lock…but it isn’t. Over in Toronto, Vesey’s dad is a scout and his brother is in the system.

So the bottom line is the Rangers are still going to have to put in 110% to land this prized free agent. We will learn if the Rangers can get it done on August 15th.

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By Anthony Scultore

Anthony Scultore has been covering the New York Rangers and the NHL since 2014. His work also appears at... More about Anthony Scultore

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