Jimmy Vesey has joined Kaapo Kakko, Zac Jones, and technically Jacob Trouba in speaking out about how the Rangers have been treating him and his ice time. Vesey, who hasn’t played since January 11 and has played in just 26 of 50 games this season, has been a healthy scratch since Matt Rempe’s suspension ended and the Rangers got healthy. In the games he did play, Jimmy Vesey had been a solid 4th liner averaging about 9 minutes TOI per game.
Earlier this season, Kakko spoke out about being scratched and how accountability seemed to be lacking. Jones also spoke out about how frustrating it is to not play. It’s now Jimmy Vesey’s turn, and to be fair, it’s tough to be upset about their ice time concerns boiling over. Kakko had been the scapegoat for years, and he finally found a new home in Seattle. The trade appears to have worked out for both teams.
Jones, who looked to finally have a roster spot after the Rangers didn’t re-sign Erik Gustafsson, has been a healthy scratch December 23, despite playing pretty well and being a good puck mover. Once the Rangers acquired both Will Borgen and Urho Vaakanainen, Jones has been relegated to the press box. Though it’s safe to say he’d be an upgrade on Ryan Lindgren, but that ship has sailed.
In theory, this is a good problem to have. Jones aside, the bottom-six forwards are pretty solid and have tons of options. The writing was on the wall with Kakko, and at the very least, Jimmy Vesey would be an excellent plug in case of injury. But this is a contract year for him, so naturally this is impacting his ability to earn a new contract elsewhere over the summer.
What this boils down to is a PR issue for the Rangers. Since this summer, they’ve had more leaks than a Lindy Ruff defensive group. In addition to the group mentioned above, Barclay Goodrow’s situation was also highly publicized. In the past, the Rangers controlled the message. Now? Not so much.
Recent Comments