Nashville Predators Trade Jimmy Vesey's Rights to Buffalo Sabres

UPDATED: June 22, 2016, at 3:30 p.m.

Nearly three months after former Harvard Hockey star Jimmy Vesey informed the Nashville Predators that he would be testing NHL free agency this summer, the club officially cut ties with the 2016 Hobey Baker Award winner Monday afternoon.

Four days ahead of the NHL Entry Draft, the Predators agreed to ship Vesey’s negotiation rights to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a third-round selection, No. 76 overall. The Sabres now have until Aug. 15 to ink Vesey to a contract before he can become an unrestricted free agent.

Vesey made his fair share of headlines while donning crimson, becoming a two-time Ivy League and ECAC Player of the Year with 104 points in 70 games over his final two seasons in Cambridge. But he’s made plenty more in recent months for the decision Nashville general manager David Poile called “a shocker” back in March.

At that impromptu press conference in Nashville inside Bridgestone Arena, Poile said he would try to persuade Vesey to change his mind. But that task quickly proved fruitless. A few days after Poile made his remarks, Vesey’s camp released a statement challenging several of the general manager's contentions, and less than a week later, Vesey did not appear to mince words when he said there were “29 teams” he could look at when the time came to determine a landing spot.

"It's been pretty clear since late March that we're not going to be able to sign Jimmy Vesey," Poile told The Tennessean on Monday. “By trading him today, in my opinion, we recouped the [third-round] pick we used to acquire him.”

Meanwhile, Buffalo still has three third-round picks in this year’s draft, making the gamble all the more worth the while for Sabres general manager Tim Murray. After all, landing Vesey would mean uniting this year’s Hobey Baker Award winner with last’s, as Jack Eichel—a former Boston University star and a friend of Vesey’s—took home the award in 2015 before being drafted second overall by the Sabres last June.

Nonetheless, Peter Donatelli, one of Vesey’s advisors, revealed Monday why the move is purely a gamble.

“In our opinion, the only thing that has happened is now the Sabres have stepped into the shoes of Nashville for exclusive rights until Aug. 15,” Donatelli told ESPN. “However, at this time, it doesn’t change Jimmy Vesey’s intention to become a free agent on Aug. 15.”

Only time will tell whether or not Vesey lands in Buffalo now, but if what Murray said to TSN is any indication, the Sabres are ready to put their best foot forward.

"Why not us?," he asked. "Why not give it a shot?"

—Staff writer Jake Meagher can be reached at jake.meagher@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @MeagherTHC.