While he is still expected to test the free agent market on August 15th when his negotiating rights expire, Jimmy Vesey will sit down with representatives from the Sabres on Thursday, writes Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com. Buffalo traded a third round pick in last month’s draft for the rights to talk to him early and to get to make their pitch to him before anyone else can.
Toronto and Boston are also believed to be on Vesey’s shortlist though he’ll undoubtedly have no shortage of suitors once he’s able to talk to all teams in mid-August.
More from the Atlantic Division:
- Still with the Sabres, winger Evander Kane will face non-criminal harassment charges stemming from a bar incident on June 24th, reports Lou Michel of the Buffalo News.
- While Detroit GM Ken Holland acknowledges that the team would still like to add some help on defense, it may take a while for that to happen as he told Gregg Krupa of the Detroit News that a decision may not be made until September. The Red Wings appear to currently have a surplus of forwards that could potentially be used to acquire a blueliner but it may take until training camp to sort out which ones could possibly be expendable, depending on the continued development of youngsters such as Anthony Mantha and Andreas Athanasiou.
- Tampa Bay C Steven Stamkos doesn’t appear to have any lingering effects from the blood clot that caused him to miss most of the playoffs, telling Lightning beat writer Bryan Burns that he is already into his full offseason workout routine. That’s certainly a positive sign for both him and the team after Stamkos agreed to the richest deal of the offseason at eight years and $68MM.