New York Rangers sign Jimmy Vesey to 1-year contract

Vesey had joined the Rangers in training camp on a professional tryout deal, and his play earned him a contract for the season. He was an unrestricted free agent after finishing a one-year, $800,000 contract with the New Jersey Devils. While the salary is currently unknown, it will likely fall under $1 million, as most deals off of PTOs usually end up in that range.

Vesey joins the Rangers for the second time in his career, as he originally started his career with them in 2016 after signing with them out of college. He spent three seasons with the Rangers before he was dealt to the Buffalo Sabres, and eventually made his way to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, and the Devils. He had eight goals, seven assists, and 15 points in 68 games for the Devils last season, well short of his career highs of 17 goals and 35 points, both of which were achieved in his time with the Rangers. Vesey had one goals, two assists, and three points in five preseason games, helping earn him a spot on the Rangers roster this year.

Beyond his middling scoring totals, Vesey doesn’t move the needle too much on the ice either. His numbers fall more to the positive side than the negative side, so he doesn’t hinder the play of his linemates, but he certainly isn’t the driver of those results either. Vesey had a 48.72% shot attempt share and 49.46% expected goal share at even strength for the Devils last season while spending a lot of his season with Michael McLeod and Nathan Bastian.

Vesey will help shore up the Rangers' forward depth, something that took significant losses in the offseason. Andrew Copp, Ryan Strome, Frank Vatrano, Tyler Motte, Kevin Rooney, and Greg McKegg all left to other teams in free agency, with the Rangers only signing Vincent Trocheck, Ryan Carpenter, and now Vesey as replacements for them. They’ll be looking to repeat their success from 2021-22, which saw them make a surprise run to the Eastern Conference Final before losing in six to the Tampa Bay Lightning.