Archive for Jimmy Vesey
Real value versus perceived value: The cast of Jimmy Vesey
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Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
Jimmy Vesey is an interesting player for the Rangers. A highly sought after college free agent, the former third round pick chose to come to New York after refusing to sign with Nashville. Vesey broke out in his junior year in Harvard, and used that leverage to select his destination.
I mention this only because that hype plays into how he is perceived across the league, especially by fans. That hype, coupled with a pair of seasons where he put up over 15 goals, has only fueled the discussion. Is Jimmy Vesey worth it? Or is he going to become overvalued?
Scattered Friday Thoughts
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Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Last night the Rangers were absolutely dismantled by Rangers-South the Tampa Bay Lightning in predictable fashion. This was an ugly one to watch, as the Blueshirts were helpless to defend wave after wave of offensive attack. No one said rebuilds were easy. As we start to move towards the twilight of a lost season, I have some thoughts…
1. There has been a lot of talk about the most beneficial way to play the remainder of the season. Logic would dictate that the Rangers should lose as many of the remaining games as possible and improve their odds of a higher draft pick. Makes perfect sense. The problem is the players on the ice will and should try to win. You can’t throw games in professional sports. The team on the ice is going to be outclassed most of the time, given the way the roster was gutted, and we can all root for losses. Expecting professionals to go out there and throw in the towel isn’t something that should be on our radar.
Appreciating Jimmy Vesey’s improvements
Posted by: | CommentsBruce Bennett/Getty Images
Jimmy Vesey was the prize undrafted free agent before last season, and the Rangers nabbed him. The former third round pick was instantly placed into a middle/bottom six role and put together a nice rookie season. The winger finished with a line of 16-11-27 in 80 games, which is impressive for a rookie given his usage.
That said, his play away from the puck left a lot to be desired. It didn’t go unnoticed that he was sporting a -4.27 rel CF%, a -13.32 rel GF% (!!), and a -5.83 rel xGF%, it just went without much criticism. He was a rookie and playing more than 40 games for the first time in his hockey career. His sophomore season would be looked at with more scrutiny, and he hasn’t disappointed.
Rangers Survive Canucks Onslaught, Extend Winning Streak
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BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES
In hockey, sometimes you lose games you should win, and others you win when you should lose. The latter applies to the Rangers in yesterday’s afternoon tussle with the Vancouver Canucks. The Rangers were awful in the first period, and only marginally better in the second and third. They survived a frantic overtime and two shootout deficits before escaping with the win, their fourth in a row.
Henrik Lundqvist was brilliant again, and the Rangers made the most of the chances they were able to create. It was a disjointed effort, rife with turnovers and sloppy defense. It wasn’t all bad of course, as again the Rangers showcased their superior offensive talent and comeback ability. The Rangers are a dangerous team when they have the puck, but they won’t be considered a serious contender until they improve defensively. Read More→
Fifth Annual New York Rangers Top 25 Under 25 (Part Two)
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The other day, I went through the bottom half of the 2016 New York Rangers 2016 Top 25 Under 25. There wasn’t much turnover, with just three new faces. However there were some big movers up the list, as big years from a few kids led to some shakeup in the bottom half.
Now it’s time to go through the top half of the list. Let’s remember that there are a good number of players on the NHL roster that are under 25 years old, so the top half of this list is mostly populated with them. There was a shift in the rankings for some of these kids though, as we’ve learned what each one is capable of in the lineup. Plus, the Rangers added some first round picks for the first time in ages.
Final impressions of the 2016-2017 season
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I feel ya, Hank
The Rangers’ 2016-2017 season has come to an end. I, like many of you, I’m sure, was left with a disappointed taste in my mouth following the Blueshirts untimely exit to a fairly mediocre Senators team. Fortunately, my writing schedule allowed me to digest for a couple days before committing my final impressions of this season to the interwebs. In thinking about concepts, angles and a final position for this article, I cycled through many emotionally driven think pieces. The title “What a Waste” stuck in my head for several days.
I was seriously considering a sanctimonious diatribe about wasting another of Hank’s prime years and the complete unfairness of the generational level of performance he has given the organization over the past decade plus only to be rewarded with consistent disappointment. Though this isn’t ultimately the point of this article, I do want to touch on that concept briefly.
Breaking up the “Kid Line” would be a bad idea
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Photo Credit: AP / Jim Mone
Over the weekend, Alain Vigneault decided to put Pavel Buchnevich, Oscar Lindberg, and Jimmy Vesey together on the fourth line. The trio clicked immediately, despite some concerns they might be defensively deficient. It provides even more evidence to support the speed/skill fourth line over grit/toughness.
Now don’t get me wrong, every team needs snarl. We got a little bit of that last night with a good Old Time Hockey brawl. It wasn’t a staged fight. It was one of passion that involved Vesey dropping the gloves, teamed with Brendan Smith and Nick Holden against three Devils. That same Vesey has been involved in a few other tussles this season.
Jimmy Vesey and the NCAA wall
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Photo: Brad Penner-USA Today
As the prized offseason signing for the Rangers, Jimmy Vesey burst onto the scene in his first month of NHL action. The highly touted rookie put up a line of 6-3-9 in his first ten NHL games, as the Rangers blew teams away to start the season. But as the Rangers dealt with injuries and the scoring regressed to a more realistic pace, Vesey’s scoring has disappeared. In his past 38 games, Vesey has scored just five goals and five assists, a far cry from the near point-per-game pace.
The dip in scoring was to be expected. It’s rare you get rookies that can score at a point per game, and those kids are usually taken in the top-five picks. Vesey was a third rounder and not an elite talent like McDavid or Matthews. Beyond the expected drop off, this is also the most hockey Vesey has ever played. He has played 48 games thus far, and the last time he even touched 40 games was in 2011-2012.
Thoughts heading into All-Star Weekend
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As the NHL heads into All-Star weekend, regular season games have been suspended until Tuesday. With the loss to the Flyers on Wednesday, the Rangers go into the break in fourth place in the Metropolitan Division, nine points back of the Caps for the top spot. With sixty percent of the season behind us and just a month to go before the trade deadline, I have some thoughts…
1. Even though it was a small sampling of games over the past week or so, it was nice to see a real bounce back in performance from Henrik Lundqvist. He has looked much sharper since the barnburner against Dallas. Much more poised on his feet, more precision in his angles and movement and more in sync with the team in front of him.
Inconsistencies shown by Miller, Vesey and Hayes suggest patience is required
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Miller hasn’t been productive recently. Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
The Rangers have been the definition of inconsistency recently, going 4-4-1, as the team noticeably took a step back after its hot start to the season. During that start the Rangers were arguably led not by Henrik Lundqvist, Rick Nash and Derek Stepan but by their kids; most notably Jimmy Vesey, Kevin Hayes and JT Miller.
What we’re seeing right now is all three players go through some growing pains, inconsistent form and quite simply stretches of games where the puck doesn’t go in for them. This isn’t time for panic however. Far from it in fact and this despite Hayes being pointless in four, Miller goalless in six and Vesey with one goal since November 13.