Jimmy Vesey Chooses Rangers, Concluding Free Agency Frenzy

Jimmy Vesey’s first time on the ice at the World’s Most Famous Arena didn’t exactly go according to plan. Despite all the hype one would expect a battle between Harvard and Yale at Madison Square Garden to warrant, the 15,000-plus fans in attendance wound up watching an overmatched Crimson squad take a shellacking.

Yet, when Harvard’s disappointed sophomore star took a seat behind the podium after the “Rivalry on Ice,” he was sure to make a distinction between his feelings about the game and his feelings about the result.

“We got treated like pros all weekend,” Vesey said. “I don’t know if any of us will ever play at MSG again, so it was truly a once in a lifetime experience.”

It was a reasonable thought at the time, but Harvard would later receive an invitation back to MSG in each of the following two seasons. And now Vesey, suddenly the grand prize of a high-profile free agency sweepstakes, has received—and accepted—a similar invitation of his own.

Vesey will indeed return to Madison Square Garden this fall, this time as a member of the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League. On Friday, the Rangers agreed to terms with Vesey on a two-year entry-level deal expected to be worth $1.85 million—the maximum amount a rookie can earn over two years under the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement. The Rangers have not disclosed the terms of the deal, but if Vesey has in fact signed a max entry-level contract, he could also receive up to $2.85 million per season in performance bonuses.

“I am very pleased to be a part of the Rangers organization,” Vesey said during a media teleconference Friday night. “It's a great franchise—Original Six—and I am excited to get going.”

Jimmy Vesey speaks with now-Harvard captain Alexander Kerfoot during the Crimson's latest game at Madison Square Garden against Quinnipiac. By Matthew W DeShaw

“The thing that jumped out at me was they seemed to really want me,” Vesey added. “And talking to them it seemed like they really needed to have me in their lineup and they believe in me, so that was something that I was looking for. And based on our talks, New York was the right fit.”

The Rangers became the last team standing in what amounted to an eight-team competition for Vesey’s services. After becoming an unrestricted free agent last Tuesday, the 23-year old Hobey Baker winner met in Massachusetts with the Rangers, Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils, and Pittsburgh Penguins. The Buffalo Sabres were also in the mix after trading a third-rounder to the Nashville Predators for Vesey’s negotiation rights back in June—a gamble that ultimately fell short.

Many teams offered Vesey a spot among their top six forwards. Some teams went a step further, converting some of their biggest stars into part-time recruiters. Chicago's Patrick Kane, the NHL's reigning Most Valuable Player, was reportedly in town for his team's meeting with Vesey. According to more reports, so were the Islanders’ John Tavares and the Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews, a rising superstar and this year’s No. 1 overall draft pick, respectively. Meanwhile, Sidney Crosby, captain of the 2016 Stanley Cup champion Penguins, reportedly reached out to Vesey on behalf of Pittsburgh.

Adding to the frenzy, the Rangers received recruiting help from several New York celebrities who attempted to lure Vesey to the Big Apple over Twitter. Among those who got involved were former New York Jet and current NFL commentator Boomer Esiason, New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard, former New York Giant Justin Tuck, and Darryl McDaniels, the founding member of the rap group Run D.M.C.

On the organizational side of things, Dorchester’s own Kevin Hayes had a significant hand in the wooing. Hayes and Vesey have been friends since childhood, and with Hayes having gone through a similar process just two years ago—the forward was drafted by the Blackhawks before opting for free agency and signing with the Rangers four years later—the two had engaged in regular talks prior to Vesey’s decision being made.

Of course, while Hayes’s situation was similar, the media attention and fanfare surrounding Vesey’s created an unprecedented summer spectacle—one that actually began a year ago in Nashville.

When Vesey led the country with 32 goals his junior year, it appeared as though the Predators had struck gold with their third-round draft selection from 2012. Nashville offered Vesey a spot in its lineup as soon as Harvard’s season was over, but the ECAC and Ivy League Player of the Year elected to return to school to get his degree and play one more year for the Crimson.

In his final season, Vesey climbed the ladder from finalist to recipient of Hockey’s Heisman, the Hobey Baker Award. But making more headlines was a decision he made one week prior to the award ceremony—a decision not to sign with the Predators.

The Vesey camp had set its eyes on free agency. After failing to convince the forward to reconsider, the Predators threw in the towel by June, shipping Vesey’s rights to Buffalo and recouping a third-round pick.

But today, Vesey is worth far more than a third-round pick. In fact, considering that the 23-year-old could potentially contribute on a top line right away, Vesey’s two-year entry-level deal has the potential to be one of the most franchise-friendly NHL contracts in recent memory.

As a result, Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton—a native of North Andover—was a very happy man on Friday.

“I was glad to see the caller ID and see the Boston number, so I hurried to answer it,” Gorton said. “And when he said, ‘Hi, it’s Jimmy Vesey, and I’ve made my decision, and I’d like to come to New York,’ I probably swore. I’m not sure exactly what I did, but I probably had a pretty exciting comeback for him. Probably can’t say it in public.”

Vesey is expected to make his NHL debut on Oct. 13 in the Rangers’ season opener against the Islanders at Madison Square Garden. He’ll make his return to Boston on Nov. 5 against the Bruins at TD Garden.

—Staff writer Jake Meagher can be reached at jake.meagher@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @MeagherTHC.