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Jimmy Vesey

Roster Crunch: Atlantic Division

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Over the past few days, we’ve looked at the final few spots on the roster for both the Pacific and Central divisions. This time, we’ll turn our attention to the East starting with the Atlantic.  This division will be in turmoil over the next few years, with clubs like the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs going through slow, deliberate rebuilds, and perennial contending squads like the Detroit Red Wings finally starting to slow down.

Florida Panthers – While the Panthers have pretty much accomplished everything they set out to do this off-season – improving the blueline with Keith Yandle and Jason Demers, getting a capable replacement for Roberto Luongo in James Reimer, and locking up their young core – they failed in one, big $5.5MM way. Dave Bolland failed his physical and therefor couldn’t be bought out. He’ll try to prove he deserves some playing time this season, but may find himself buried in the AHL to make room for Jared McCann, the prize Florida received when they dealt Erik Gudbranson to the Canucks.

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Blackhawks Notes: Line Projections With, Without Vesey

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The Athletic’s Scott Powers spends a lengthy article channeling his inner Joel Quenneville and shuffling lines in six (6!) different fashions. Last week, Powers floated the story that Quenneville may in fact unite captain Jonathan Toews with Patrick Kane, an absolute lethal combination should the Hawks manage to ink Jimmy Vesey. Below are the combinations that Powers threw out–which includes a few combinations should the Hawks land Vesey.

We’ll start with the Vesey scenario: Powers believes that Toews would be flanked by Vesey on his left and Kane on the right. Should Vesey live up to his billing and Kane continue to churn out points like he has the past two seasons, it’s almost criminal what that line could be capable of.  The second line would consist of Artemi Panarin – Artem Anisimov – Vinnie Hinostroza, giving them a potent one-two punch on the top two lines. An Andrew Desjardins – Marcus Kruger – Marian Hossa third line provides a great two-way forward line that will be overwhelmingly responsible on both ends of the ice. Powers rounds out these lines with a Richard Panik – Nick Schmaltz – Kyle Baun offering, which Powers argues, is due to the Hawks not wanting to have younger players as healthy scratches.

In his first offering, Powers pencils in what seems to be the most logical as he goes by the organizational and Quenneville-like approach. The lines:

Panik – Toews – Hinostroza
Panarin – Anisimov – Kane
Desjardins – Kruger – Hossa
Schmaltz – Tanner Kero – Jordin Tootoo

His rationale? Despite relaying the idea that Kane and Toews could be on the ice together often, Powers goes further by saying that any line arrangement with Chicago’s roster is challenging because there are only four definitive top-6 forwards: Toews, Panarin, Anisimov, and Kane. Quenneville, Powers writes, already experimented with moving Hossa to the third line during the 2016 playoffs and will most likely start him there during the regular season. Powers also reports that keeping the Panarin-Anisimov-Kane together is due in part to their production. Hinostroza led AHL affiliate Rockford in points and seems to be one of the few younger players that could earn Quenneville’s trust. Kero and Schmaltz, though on a crapshoot of a line, would bring speed and scoring to a fourth line.

Powers shuffles the chairs on the deck with his other four pairings. But disturbing the wildly dominant Panarin-Anisimov-Kane line seems premature. Even if they land Vesey, leaving this line alone would pay dividends should they be as successful as they were last season. Further, Vesey would be just as productive with the captain on his line.

Everything is contingent on what happens August 15th. But here’s guessing 29 other GM’s are hoping if Vesey doesn’t sign with them, he at least doesn’t go to the Hawks. It would make an already great team even better.

Snapshots: Hudler, Pirri, Vesey, Ward

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Much has been written about the best free agents available and Ian McLaren reports that of the top three teams should look at, one isn’t available until August 15th. Add McLaren to the Jimmy Vesey fan club as he lists him behind Jiri Hudler and Brandon Pirri as the three best potential additions to teams still kicking the tires. Hudler, McLaren writes, will come at a significant discount from the $4MM he made last season. He also notes that despite a fall off, Hudler still brings value to any team willing to invest in him. McLaren believes that Pirri is one of the more under appreciated players available. Pirri scored goals on limited ice time, and if given a bigger role, could show flashes of brilliance while also coming dirt cheap.

McLaren saves Vesey for last, listing the Maple Leafs, Bruins and Blackhawks as three of the top suitors for the 23-year-old Hobey Baker winner. The buzz continues to rise as August 15th approaches–the date that Vesey can meet with teams and make his final decision. McLaren writes that should Vesey’s college production continue into the pros, one NHL team will be rewarded handsomely.

In other NHL news:

  • Cam Ward’s best season may have been when he was 21-years-old writes NBC’s Adam Gretz. Ward, Gretz argues, played to a peak and rode a two month hot streak back in 2006 that backstopped the Hurricanes to their first–and only–Stanley Cup championship. Since then, Ward has held the Hurricanes back on more than one occasion, and last season, along with Eddie Lack, Ward was a prime reason the Hurricanes underachieved. Gretz writes that despite being a top 1o possession team, the ’Canes sputtered due to poor goaltending. He further points out that Ward’s numbers have been in the bottom third of the league for the past few seasons. It’s Ward’s year, he continues, to prove the Hurricanes right for their loyalty. Should Ward have even an average year, Carolina could be looking at a playoff appearance. But another substandard season could spell doom for both the Hurricanes playoff hopes and Ward’s playing time.

Snapshots: Hossa, Barrie, Vesey

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The Athletic’s Scott Powers writes that Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa is just fine with whatever comes his way during the 2016-17 season. The 37-year-old winger has slowed a bit since joining the Hawks in 2009-10 and had his lowest point total since the 1998-99 season. Powers reports that Hossa is cognizant of where he is in his career, and that the extra rest following a first round playoff loss to the Blues has recharged Hossa mentally and physically.

Hossa is comfortable with a more defensive-minded role, Powers adds. The gifted two-way forward’s impact on possession should remain stable even while his numbers decline. Underrated throughout the seven seasons of his Blackhawk career is the impact he has on the ice disrupting plays defensively, and then setting up scoring chances at the other end–oftentimes in the same shift.

Though he climbs in age, Hossa’s value to the Hawks is anything but diminished. If the Hawks are fortunate enough to land Jimmy Vesey, the offense that Vesey could generate would more than compensate for Hossa’s drop off. If anything, a full-out defensive minded Hossa would only ratchet up the Stanley Cup expectations in Chicago.

In other NHL news:

  • Adrian Dater argues that the purported angst between Tyson Barrie and the Colorado Avalanche  isn’t as bad as many think. He also shoots down the rumor that the Avs will deal the young d-man. Dater indicates that the Avs still own Barrie’s rights for another three seasons and wouldn’t dream of dealing him unless the trade package was significant. Dater writes that the Avs are in the “driver’s seat” when it comes to Barrie and that both sides see this negotiation as business, not personal.
  • Dater also weighs in on the Vesey-to-Blackhawks speculation and claims that the Hawks would likely use Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane as recruiting tools to bring the young forward into the fold. With every organization being bound to the same financial constraints, Dater writes that the Hawks are head and shoulders above other teams because of their prestige and standing in the league. Vesey would also be an affordable top six forward for the Hawks. In true Dater fashion, he concludes by saying “he’s been wrong before.” Regardless, Dater joins the cacophony of voices reporting the Hawks’ high chance of landing the coveted winger.

The Latest In The Jimmy Vesey Saga

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The story of highly-sought-after pending UFA Jimmy Vesey has taken a few twists and turns in the last few months: Vesey allegedly told the Predators he would sign with them, then didn’t and denied ever saying he would. He was traded to Buffalo, where he would have the chance to play with good friend Jack Eichel. Despite the opportunity in Buffalo, Vesey has remained firm about getting to free agency on August 15.

It’s believed the Bruins, Maple Leafs, and Sabres are among the frontrunners to land Vesey; he played in Harvard, his dad and brother are currently in Toronto as a scout and draft pick respectively, and the Sabres have his friend Eichel and paid a third round pick to acquire him. However, Vesey’s agent Peter Donatelli told Powers his camp won’t “pigeonhole” themselves by making a decision before speaking to teams. Now it appears that a new team has entered the sweepstakes: the powerhouse Chicago Blackhawks.

Donatelli told The Athletic’s Scott Powers that Chicago “will be a team we want to talk to on August 15”.

On the surface, there appears to be a great fit with Chicago on the top line with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa. The pairing played with several different players last season after Brandon Saad was traded to Columbus last summer. The Blackhawks can offer him a big chance to play with two of the best players in the game and a chance to win now, whereas the other teams believed to be on the list are all in various states of rebuilding or re-tooling. Vesey would also give the Blackhawks a cheap young talent to help offset the recent losses of Teuvo Teravainen and Andrew Shaw.

With the power squarely in Vesey’s hands to choose his destination, Donatelli said it will be up to each team to sell their program to Vesey.

More On The Blackhawks, Jimmy Vesey

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Kristi Loucks of Today’s Slapshot writes today on the emerging speculation surrounding Buffalo Sabres’ prospect Jimmy Vesey, who can become an unrestricted free agent on August 15th, when his draft rights expire, and the Chicago Blackhawks. We’ve discussed before the talk surrounding Vesey and the Blackhawks, and the news that Stan Bowman has been going to Foxboro, Massachusetts to watch Vesey play summer games.

Loucks mentions the Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, and Toronto Maple Leafs as other teams that will be in the running for Vesey’s services. In season-long speculation involving Vesey, his ties to Sabres’ forward Jack Eichel are often brought up, as are his having been raised in Boston, and the fact that his father Jim is a scout for the Leafs, and his brother Nolan is a Leafs prospect himself.

Loucks discusses the benefits available in Chicago for Vesey. Obviously they’re a legitimate contender, having won the Stanley Cup three times this decade, but they’re unique for a contender in that they offer a large amount of playing time immediately for a young player. The Blackhawks aren’t particularly deep at left wing, and assuming Calder Trophy winner Artemi Panarin stays on the second line with Artem Anisimov and Patrick Kane, Vesey could find the opportunity to play top minutes with future Hall of Fame linemates in Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa.

Red Wings Notes: Pulkkinen, Athanasiou, Mantha, Glendening

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Detroit Red Wings beat writer Ansar Khan answered questions from readers on a range of topics. Here are some of the highlights from Khan’s column:

  • On the chance of  Teemu Pulkkinen seeing more ice time, Khan writes that the AHL scoring machine, aside from being injured, missed a chance to secure a regular roster spot. A constant cry from several fan blogs and even analysts who use advanced metrics argue that Pulkkinen, Anthony Mantha, Tomas Jurco, and Andreas Athanasiou have not been given the proper ice time or chance to succeed. Khan does acknowledge this claim, but argues that it falls on the individual player to “seize” the moment. With the signings of Thomas Vanek, and Steve Ott, it pushes out a number of bubble players. But Khan states that Ott will not be a reason Mantha doesn’t see more ice time.
  • More on Athanasiou and Mantha: Khan predicts that Mantha will begin the season in Grand Rapids while Athanasiou could get the 2013 Gustav Nyquist treatment that saw the dynamic forward bottled up in Grand Rapids until injuries forced his call up. Khan states that burying Athanasiou in Grand Rapids would be a mistake should he show the same speed and offensive prowess he did during the latter half of last season.
  • On Luke Glendening’s new contract: Khan claims that the feedback he has received from fans has been mixed regarding Glendening’s new four-year, $7.2MM deal. Many fans bristled at the long term, and higher dollar amount for Glendening. Carolyn Wilke created a number of graphs that shows the value of players through a number of metrics. Wilke’s quantitative work reveals the irritation that many Wings fans had with the signing. Khan argues that Glendening “brings more to the table than people give him credit for.” While he points out that former coach Mike Babcock, current coach Jeff Blashill, and general manager Ken Holland like his work, the Red Wings are known for their loyalty to certain players.–often to a fault.
  • On trades and Jimmy Vesey: Khan indicates that the Red Wings, like every other organization except Nashville, will certainly be in on pursuing Hobey Baker winner and free agent Jimmy Vesey. Additionally, he says to watch Colorado’s Tyson Barrie as another possible defensive target should the Avalanche make him available via trade.

 

Latest On The Bruins

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While Boston GM Don Sweeney would be okay with going into the season with the roster the team currently has, he noted to Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald that he is still exploring opportunities to add to the current team.  Sweeney noted that the team still has plenty of cap flexibility (about $6.7MM according to Cap Friendly) by design but that he also values that flexibility moving into next couple of years as well which could affect their willingness to take on a longer-term contract, either in free agency or via trade.

More on the Bruins:

  • Also in Conroy’s piece, the Bruins will name their new AHL head coach next week. Kevin Dean is believed to be the favorite to get the job in Providence while Keith McCambridge is also known to have interviewed.
  • Within the span of just over a year, Boston has dramatically revamped and improved their prospect depth on the back end, writes WEEI’s DJ Bean. Sweeney mentioned that it had been an area of focus at the draft and the team has added five blueliners in the first two rounds of the last two drafts.  Of those players, Bean suggests Brandon Carlo (37th overall in 2015) is closest to being NHL ready but with seven defensemen on one-way deals, there may not be a spot for him to step in right away.  With just seven games of pro experience under his belt though, a trip to Providence would certainly be beneficial for the 19 year old.
  • Prospect winger Jimmy Vesey, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent on August 15th, told CSNNE’s Joe Haggerty that Boston is definitely on the short list of teams he plans to talk to. The 23 year old Massachusetts native grew up a Bruins fan and it has long been speculated that Boston should be considered a front runner to secure his services.
  • In a separate column from Haggerty, Sweeney noted that both David Krejci and Torey Krug are both on track in their recovery schedules from offseason surgery.  Krug had shoulder surgery on April 21st with an expected recovery of six months which could cause him to miss a handful of games to start next season while Krejci had hip surgery four days later with a five month timetable.

Central Notes: Blackhawks, Stars

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Enter the Chicago Blackhawks into the number of teams interested in Jimmy Vesey reports Mike Harrington. Harrington cites the Providence Journal story that placed Hawks general manager Stan Bowman at the Foxboro Sports Center watching Vesey compete. Additionally, Harrington uses Chicago’s signing of Artemi Panarin as another clue into the Hawks’ interest in the Hobey Baker Trophy winner.

Chicago reaped the benefits of inking Panarin who complemented Patrick Kane well on a line, notched 77 points (30-44) and won the Calder Trophy as the league’s best rookie. Vesey would be an intriguing signing as the Hawks can promise ice time and instant success since the Blackhawks window to win remains wide open with Jonathan Toews, and Kane still being in the prime of their careers. As it stands, the Blackhawks remain just one of many teams looking into Vesey’s services. Harrington reports that Vesey seems willing to listen to every interested team before he inks a deal, and not just signing with the Sabres because they hold his rights.

Other Central news:

  • The Blackhawks have added Derek King as an assistant coach for AHL affiliate Rockford. Tracey Myers tweets that King spent 2009-2015 on the Toronto Marlies coaching staff. The Blackhawks also released a statement announcing King’s hiring with the Icehogs.
  • Mike Heika answered a number of questions about the Stars goaltending situation during a chat session. Among the several goaltending questions he received, Heika indicated that while the Stars are apparently content with their situation in net for now, it shouldn’t be ruled out that they could try to upgrade later. Heika says that while rumors cannot be discounted about Ben Bishop or Marc-Andre Fleury, Heika is “guessing” when he thinks the Stars would pass on Fleury due to playoff inconsistencies. He also speculates that a mid-season deal for Bishop would be more likely, especially if the Lightning cannot come to terms with him.
  • Heika also writes extensively about who the Stars need to develop between the pipes as the Stars dealt former prospect Jack Campbell after years of trying to make him the organization’s franchise goalie. Heika lists Max Lagace, Philippe Desrosiers, and Landon Bow as the three prospects the Stars must bring along in order to solve their goaltending woes. Both Bow and Desrosiers are both invitees to the Stars development camp and then the prospects tournament in Traverse City. Lagace intrigues because it was him who usurped Campbell, and helped the decision to jettison him to Los Angeles. Heika also lists Lagace as the favorite to be the #1 goalie in the AHL.

Atlantic Notes: Vesey, Kane, Red Wings, Stamkos

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While he is still expected to test the free agent market on August 15th when his negotiating rights expire, Jimmy Vesey will sit down with representatives from the Sabres on Thursday, writes Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com.   Buffalo traded a third round pick in last month’s draft for the rights to talk to him early and to get to make their pitch to him before anyone else can.

Toronto and Boston are also believed to be on Vesey’s shortlist though he’ll undoubtedly have no shortage of suitors once he’s able to talk to all teams in mid-August.

More from the Atlantic Division:

  • Still with the Sabres, winger Evander Kane will face non-criminal harassment charges stemming from a bar incident on June 24th, reports Lou Michel of the Buffalo News.
  • While Detroit GM Ken Holland acknowledges that the team would still like to add some help on defense, it may take a while for that to happen as he told Gregg Krupa of the Detroit News that a decision may not be made until September. The Red Wings appear to currently have a surplus of forwards that could potentially be used to acquire a blueliner but it may take until training camp to sort out which ones could possibly be expendable, depending on the continued development of youngsters such as Anthony Mantha and Andreas Athanasiou.
  • Tampa Bay C Steven Stamkos doesn’t appear to have any lingering effects from the blood clot that caused him to miss most of the playoffs, telling Lightning beat writer Bryan Burns that he is already into his full offseason workout routine. That’s certainly a positive sign for both him and the team after Stamkos agreed to the richest deal of the offseason at eight years and $68MM.

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