The Jimmy Vesey watch continued today much to the dismay of many. Nothing has been leaked out that can be deemed concrete although some claiming to have sources inside Vesey's circle have tweeted their supposed info on his decision.
For two days Vesey heard pitches from a number of teams, mostly in the northeast region of the country close to his hometown of Boston. Some teams brought out the big guns like the Pittsburgh Penguins with Sidney Crosby, the New Jersey Devils--Corey Schneider, the NY Islanders--John Tavares and the Chicago Blackhawks--Patrick Kane. Of course the NY Rangers not only had their contingent in person but also had the backing of celebrity tweets from the likes of Susan Sarandon, Justin Tuck, Boomer Esiason, Linda Cohn and Run DMC, among others, putting their two cents into the Vesey sweepstakes. It's New York.
The best situation for Vesey to win a Stanley Cup right now would be to join the Blackhawks or the Penguins. He could be one of the kings of the rebuild going on in New Jersey, could fight for a top-six role amongst a strong group of youngins in Toronto, could possibly be Tavares' wing man with the Islanders or he could have a security blanket from friends and family in his hometown of Boston (at least initially.)
The Buffalo Sabres held Vesey's rights until 12:01 a.m. Tuesday and reportedly have met with him twice. GM Tim Murray, head coach Dan Bylsma and assistant director of scouting Jerry Forton sat down with the Vesey camp in early July for a chat and by all indications it went "very well" despite the Sabres not bringing along any heavyweights like owner Terry Pegula. Nor did the need to bring along any players as superstar in the making Jack Eichel spent the summer skating with Vesey in the same summer league. It's been said that the team chatted over the phone with the Vesey camp another time.
It's been a very long process which has pushed people to the point of wanting this thing to be over with yesterday. To their credit, the Vesey camp has kept everything real close to the vest and have been very meticulous during their decision-making process. And that makes those watching even more crazy. Vesey was said to have been whittling down his list and although nothing has been officially released, the Pittsburgh Penguins just signed University of Notre Dame free agent forward Thomas DiPauli originally a fourth round pick of the Washington Capitals in 2012. In doing so, they might be considered out of the mix.
All the secrecy hasn't stopped the rumor mill from churning, and that includes one rumor of Vesey and friend Kevin Hayes of the NY Rangers buying a condo in the Big Apple. Which may or may not be true. The latest news, however, centers around which teams will make the final cut before his ultimate decision is made.
Earlier today Arthur Staples of Newsday tweeted: "Nothing final yet, but hearing it's #NYR or #CHI for Jimmy Vesey. Tavares made a strong pitch for #Isles but they fell short, it appears."
Yet three hours later Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald countered by tweeting: "Peter Fish, J. Vesey agent, said reports that it's down to NYR and Chi. are not accurate. Said a handful of teams involved, including B's."
Seems like they're really having a tough time with this decision and it might take another day. TSN's Bob McKenzie tweeted earlier in the day that "Jimmy Vesey's decision likely to come today. Outside chance it drifts to tomorrow but it's more likely #VeseyWatch ends today."
Peter Donatelli a Vesey consultant also is said to have mentioned that the decision probably won't come until this weekend. According to a Brian Hedger tweet, the Chicago Sun-Times Vesey-watcher quotes Donatelli as saying, "In reality, we've had one conversation about the meetings [with teams]. We won't be rushed. It's the right way to do it.
"A decision is not likely going to happen today, but should be done this weekend at some point."
Doom and gloom seems to enter into the equation for most Buffalo fans anytime the Sabres are in the mix as the list of players they've gone after and missed on grows larger. Names like Brad Richards, Steven Stamkos and Shane Doan conjure up images of strikeouts by the organization yet the fact that the Sabres are in the mix is a huge accomplishment nonetheless considering where they were some six or seven years ago.
That said, I'm a glass half-full guy. Peter Fish and Global Hockey, whom he works for, are proud to have Hobey Award winner Eichel atop their twitter page and they also tweet a link to a real nice article for NHL.com entitled Jimmy Vesey leans on Jack Eichel while decision looms. Take it for what it's worth.
It ain't over until it's over and while losing out on Vesey won't be anything close to the end of the world, adding him would surely help.
P.S.
Thanks to Conroy for "stumbling upon" a Van Morrison Live from Belfast video on youtube (via Music Vault):
Join the Discussion:
»