Published July 3, 2019
BUFFALO — North Reading native Jimmy Vesey has been traded from the New York Rangers to the Buffalo Sabres for a 3rd round draft pick.
The Harvard graduate will now be teaming up with fellow Hobey Baker Award winner and Chelmsford native Jack Eichel.
Vesey played three seasons in New York, racking up 50 goals and 40 assists for 90 points in 240 games played.
JIMMY VESEY (Buffalo Sabres Photo)
The Sabres have coveted Vesey for quite some time, even trading with the Nashville Predators for his rights back in 2016 after Vesey announced he would hit the free agent pool as a rookie. Buffalo made the move to get an extra few weeks in exclusive bidding rights but Vesey chose the Rangers.
The Sabres have a phenomenal top line in Eichel, Jeff Skinner and Sam Reinhart who combined for 210 points last year.
Their second line features former Pittsburgh Penguin Stanley Cup champion and Winchester native Conor Sheary on the left side so it’s possible Vesey could find a home on the third line with Evan Rodrigues, a former BU center who played against Vesey and the Crimson for three years from 2012–2015, and former UConn player Tage Thompson.
The move was widely considered to be made for salary cap reasons and just hours after announcing the trade on Monday, the Rangers announced they were signing Artemi Panarin, one of the top free agents in the league, for seven years, $81.5 million.
Vesey, who attended Belmont Hill and later graduated from North Reading High School in 2012, has one more year left on his $2,275,000 deal. He can become an unrestricted free agent after the 2019–20 season.
