The New York Rangers have traded forward Jimmy Vesey to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a 2021 third-round pick, the teams announced Monday.
Vesey, 26, has spent the past three seasons with the Rangers since signing in New York as a college free agent. Interestingly, Vesey has a bit of a history with Buffalo — the club acquired his rights from the Nashville Predators in order to get a head start on negotiating with college’s top player at the time after Vesey made it known he wouldn’t be signing with the Predators, but the Hobey Baker Award winner ultimately opted to hit the open market. (Vesey cost the Sabres a third-round pick then, too.)
Of course, he ultimately hit the open market and wound up with the Rangers, signing a two-year entry-level deal in August 2016 and re-upping with the club two years later. The Boston native is under contract for the 2019-20 season and carries a cap hit of $2.275 million. He’s currently scheduled for unrestricted free agency next July.
Vesey is coming off his most productive campaign yet, tallying 17 goals and 35 points in 81 games with the Rangers in 2018-19. In 240 career NHL regular-season games, the winger has tallied 50 goals and 40 assists for 90 points.
