The Buffalo Sabres went into the start of free agency with some holes to fill up front and left with those holes mostly still there. There's a need at No. 2 center that needs to be filled and another top-six spot or two on the wing as well. Buffalo did nothing to address those with a free agent signing but were able to pull off a trade for top-nine forward Jimmy Vesey.
If that name sounds familiar, it should as the rights to Vesey were acquired by then Sabres GM Tim Murray for a third round pick. Vesey was drafted 66th overall by the Nashville Predators in the 2012 NHL Draft and finished his four-years stint at Harvard by winning the Hobey Baker Award as NCAA's top player. Upon finishing up he let the Predators know of his intention to become a free agent in August. Nashville then sent his rights to the Sabres for a well-traveled third round pick that was originally Minnesota's but changed hands five other times before Nashville used it on center Rem Pitlick (76th-overall.)
Murray conceded it was "a gamble" at the time but also asked, "Why not us? Why not give it a shot?" The team just spent the prior four years drafting 34 players including 10 first rounders and were also seen as a team on the rise with a young core bolstered by a trio of young vets. However, Vesey's camp had repeated time and again that they would be testing the market come August 15. Vesey's father Jim, who had played for the Boston Bruins ever so briefly, said he was "surprised the deal went down.
"It's still my understanding that he's going to free agency," the elder Vesey said of his son. "The gameplan was to have a list of possible teams ready, get to Aug. 15 and then decide. I know nothing has changed. I bet Jimmy's surprised by [Buffalo trading for him] too."
Sure enough, Vesey tested the market and signed with the NY Rangers. Three years later the Sabres sent another third-round pick, this time to New York to acquire Vesey.
In three seasons with the Rangers Vesey played in 240 games scoring 50 goals and adding 40 assists to go along with a minus-37 rating. He also had five points (1+4) in 12 playoff games.
Vesey was a solid third-line contributor with the Rangers and as of late was putting some time in on the powerplay, something he was proud of yesterday afternoon while mentioning it on his conference call with the media. "Part of my game and part of my style is a bit of the blue-collar element," he said while talking about his consistency playing 5v5. "Last year, something people might not know and something that I'm proud about is that I was able to work on the penalty kill aspect of the game.
"I saw regular minutes on the PK and I think that was just part of my maturity."
Vesey still believes he's a scorer but looks as if he'll be settling into a top-nine role for the Sabrers. "We view him as a top-nine forward," said Sabres GM Jason Botterill yesterday while also pointing out Vesey's 5v5 scoring. "I think the thing that really stands out for us," said Botterill, "is his ability to score at even strength. I think he's had 16 even strength goals in each of the last two seasons.
"Here's just another player in Jimmy that comes into our organization and can help us with even-strength scoring."
Botterill didn't fill any top-six needs yesterday although there still might be an option or two via free agency as players like forward Marcus Johansson and winger Michael Ferland went unsigned yesterday. When asked how he felt things went at the start of free agency, Botterill said they were "aggressive in trying to talk to certain players out there...
"We did key in on a couple of forwards that we felt would be good additions to our group. There wasn't a fit there so we turned out attention more to the trade market."
That "fit" probably included dollars and/or term from the Sabres perspective and/or the personal preference of the unrestricted players on the market.
What was left for Botterill and the Sabres was adding depth to the club. Vesey was the only player yesterday that will be on the Sabres roster come fall. Buffalo also signed center Curtis Lazar, a former first round pick, who's been in a checking role almost his entire NHL career. The Calgary Flames did not give him a qualifying offer and he became an unrestricted free agent.
He'll get a fresh start in Buffalo (his second) thanks to amateur scout Randy Hansch who spoke very highly of Lazar. Hansch worked with the Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL) when Lazar played for the team. Botterill called Lazar "a strong kid who plays with pace," something the team has been focusing on.
There's a strong case to be made that Lazar was rushed into his NHL career as he stuck with the Ottawa Senators as a 19 yr. old. "Everyone aspires to be in the NHL," he told The Athletic's Scott Cruickshank after being let loose by Calgary. "When I was 19 I had the chance--go back to junior or play in the NHL. Nobody's going to say no to the NHL. I took it with open arms and I grew my game that way.
"I got moulded into a checking, fourth-line, role guy and over time I just lost my offensive edge."
Projections for Lazar have him in that same fourth-line role with the Sabres and/or a top-line role in Rochester.
Speaking of Rochester, once again Botterill added to the Amerks with some signings. First and foremost he landed a No. 3 goalie for the organization when he signed Andrew Hammond. The 31 yr. old had a short, dream run with the Senators back in 2014-15 but has struggled with consistency ever since.
The Sabres also made some moves for Rochester signing forward J.S. Dea and defenseman John Gilmour.
It's not surprising Botterill and the Sabres did little on the first day of free agency. A Vesey trade was in the rumor mill as the Rangers needed to make room for winger Artemi Panarin who signed a 7yr./$81 million deal with them. Buffalo wasn't realistically in on No. 2 center Matt Duchene and the rest of the UFA didn't hold much and/or were, as per usual, overpaid.
It's a long summer with plenty of time to improve the roster. After the dust settles teams will see where they're at and where they're going and something might surface. After all, the Jeff Skinner trade didn't go down until August 2 last year.
Just sayin'.
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