Jimmy Vesey is officially back in the Big Apple.
The New York Rangers brought their prodigal son home on Sunday, agreeing to terms with Vesey on a one-year contract worth $750,000. The deal sees Vesey turn a professional tryout offer into a tangible NHL job for this coming season.
Of course, this is not Vesey’s first go-around in New York. The former college standout famously signed with the Rangers back in 2016, eventually setting career-high marks in goals and points with the club in 2018-19 when he finished with 17 goals and 38 points.
Vesey never managed to replicate the success he had as a Ranger all those years ago. Since leaving New York in free agency back in 2019, Vesey has topped out at 11 goals in a single season while bouncing around between the Sabres, Maple Leafs, Canucks, and Devils, failing to earn regular NHL minutes at any stop.
The 2021-22 season was a particularly rough one for Vesey, as the 29-year-old finished with just eight goals and seven assists for 15 points in 68 games while logging just a smidge above 14 minutes in average nightly ice time.
The good news, though, is that Vesey’s underlying numbers don’t look too bad if you squint hard enough, with the formerly hyped collegiate product posting positive expected-goal and scoring chance shares at even strength despite beginning just 37.7 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone.
At this point, Vesey is a very low-event player. He doesn’t make anyone around him better, and can’t really keep up when placed alongside elite talent. But as a depth forward who can stop the ice from tilting the wrong way during his usage? There are far worse options out there.
The Rangers seem to see something in him.
