At 12:01am Tuesday, Harvard standout Jimmy Vesey (along with a handful of other former collegiate skaters) became a free agent. While Vesey isn’t going to change a team’s fortunes, he’s a talented player who can improve a forward group. Importantly, acquiring the 23-year-old won’t cost anything more than an entry-level deal. That means almost every team in the NHL is interested, but according to a report from Mark Divver, the first meetings with the free agent are going to the Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils, Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders.
Those meetings are set to take place on Tuesday.
All four teams have been connected to interest from Vesey’s camp in reports over the last couple weeks. That means the list isn’t very surprising. It also doesn’t mean that teams connected to Vesey like the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks are off the table. It’s just where negotiations/pitches are starting.
Additionally, Aaron Portzline reports that the Columbus Blue Jackets have expressed interest in Vesey. While they haven’t been seen as a team that has Vesey’s interest, Vesey’s agent Peter Fish has expressed a willingness to hear out their pitch.
According to multiple reports, Vesey isn’t expected to pick his destination until the end of the week.