Harvard captain and unrestricted free agent Jimmy Vesey met with several NHL teams yesterday (Toronto, NY Islanders, New Jersey, Pittsburgh were among those reported) and he’ll meet with more today. The New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks are reportedly on the list and we’ll be able to confirm that a little later.

We’ve heard that the hometown Boston Bruins are going to be the last team to make the case, which is a nice situation to be in, but in itself is no real indicator of where the skilled offensive left wing will end up.

By virtue of the NHL’s CBA, the money every team can offer him is essentially the same, assuming they max out the base salary and performance bonus structure. Per General Fanager, those amounts are: 2 years at a base (max) salary of $925,000, $3.775M AAV ($832,500 salary +$92,500 signing bonus; $2.85M performance bonuses). The 925k is your cap hit this year and those performance bonuses could roll over into next year’s cap hit for the team that signs him if he were to do what Artemi Panarin accomplished in Chicago en route to the 2016 Calder Trophy.

That means it pretty much comes down to the various pitches and the opportunities the teams lay out for Vesey.

Were I the Bruins general manager, I would adopt a “less is more” approach here as it pertains to Vesey. The obvious small peanuts move is to bring a No. 19 Bruins jersey with his name on it to the meeting. Only 2 players have worn those digits in Boston since the 2000-01 season: Joe Thornton and Tyler Seguin. It’s not about why both players left…Vesey is well aware of the history. However, he idolized Thornton as a youngster. It’s an obvious tactic designed to connect to the kid in him and the exclusivity by which the B’s have limited that number over the years carries its own appeal. But no hockey jersey, regardless of the history behind it, is going to close a deal, and whether teams make videos or bring in players to help make their case, all of that is just window dressing. In the end, the GMs will have to walk a fine line between keeping it simple and making a cogent argument that will appeal to the pragmatist in him, and also making an important connection to his personality and values. The Sabres have the advantage here, because they’re the ones who have had about two months to make that connection and also have the benefit of Vesey’s friendship with NHL superstar-in-waiting Jack Eichel.

Boston doesn’t have those advantages but bring a different edge to the table, so for me, the pitch is relatively simple.

After laying out the obvious opportunities Vesey will have to succeed with the Bruins organization and committing the max dollars like everyone else, selling him on staying home comes down to a relatively direct but earnest message:

Jimmy-

You grew up dreaming of this opportunity (to play for the Bruins) and now, you’re in a position to choose where you begin your NHL career. Not everyone has the power of choice, so we respect where you are and what you have done to bring us to this moment together.

Other teams have undoubtedly made convincing arguments for why you should choose them, and you’re facing the most difficult decision of your life thus far. As we finish up the last of your meetings before you decide, we’d like to leave you with this:

Boston offers you one thing no other team can, and that is the certainty that comes with knowing you achieved your childhood dream. Not choosing the Bruins means that you might go through life wondering what it would have been like to play here if you had only made a different decision. Choosing Boston means that regardless of what happens, you will never have questions about what could have been, and we believe you’ll have no regrets that you chose to stay home and join the legacy that your father is also a part of.

It isn’t easy playing in your hometown and dealing with the various pressures that come with high expectations along with the scrutiny and attention you’ll get because of the many accomplishments you bring with you. However, you’ve also demonstrated that you have the maturity to handle those challenges and become every bit the player and person so many believe you will be. We believe in you, and we want you to be a part of the next big revival period of Boston Bruins hockey. You’ve talked to your friends inside the organization and you know that over the past three or four drafts, we’re building the right group of talented and committed players. We want you to be a part of this resurgence.

Your head might tell you that other cities and teams can offer you more reasons to go there and wear different colors than the black and gold, but you also have a chance to listen to your heart as you make your final decision.

We believe your heart is telling you to be a Boston Bruin and we’re prepared to help you realize that dream.

That’s it.

That’s all.

In my experience it really comes down to that, and it’s not about overselling or underselling. It’s about trying to establish a connection and speak to what will ultimately drive the decision. Money and opportunity are important, but they won’t guarantee success or happiness. Talk is cheap, but blood is thicker than water, and following in his dad’s footsteps while playing close to family and friends is a powerful lure.

I believe that all things being equal- Vesey has the desire to play in Boston. His family is here, and his dad comes from humble roots in Charlestown. Injuries prevented him from making the mark he could have at the NHL level, but Jimmy has a chance to do much more at this level, and I suspect that fact is not lost on Jim Vesey, Sr.

I also think that there is a lot of white noise and distractors out there that could be steering young Vesey away from Boston. The talk of the external pressures and distractions that come with being such a high-profile player from the area is real, but in my view- too much is being made of the concerns and what-if’s. There are no doubt several convincing arguments to be made that he’s better off playing elsewhere, but if a decision to reject the chance to play for the Bruins is based on trivial reasons such as being pressed by ticket requests or a fear of being criticized on sports radio and television, then maybe it is for the best that he begin his NHL career elsewhere.

Knowing Jimmy over the years, I believe he wants to embrace a real challenge over an easier path- his success has been fueled by adversity. Staying home does present certain negatives that playing in a place like Newark, N.J. doesn’t, but the reward and payoff should he prove himself to be the player in the NHL that he’s been at Harvard is enormous as a member of the Bruins versus the Devils, Rangers, Sabres or anywhere else. Does he want to stay in Boston enough to accept the identified risk that comes with the spotlight and possible friction that Jimmy Hayes was a source of last season?

That’s a question only Vesey can answer, and after today, we’ll soon find out.

***

Separate from the above post, going to hop on the soapbox for a bit and share some thoughts and observations on what I’ve been seeing lately, especially on Twitter…

It’s a shame that there is so much hype surrounding Vesey and that invariably, he’s started to get a backlash from people tired of hearing about it and of course- the element of folks out there who are holding against him that he’s leveraging a collectively bargained right. It’s more than a little silly, especially since we’re about giving the people what they want, and in the modern information age, what the people want is almost always an over saturation of stories and angles. They want to know exactly how it’s all going to end beforehand. We ourselves encourage paralysis by analysis in places like Twitter and internet message boards. So, why is anyone surprised that a player who has scored more than 50 goals and 100 points in the past two NCAA seasons is generating so much attention?

The fact is- NHL teams don’t get an opportunity to sign a player of Vesey’s potential every year, so when someone with his talent and upside comes along, there’s an obvious desire for coverage commensurate with storylines that develop when multiple cities pursue someone on the open market. Jimmy Vesey didn’t create this animal, but he’s required to feed it.

Signing Vesey is not a gamble, either- a gamble is when you leave something to pure chance. He’s given multiple indications that he will be a successful NHL player. No, signing Vesey is taking a risk– teams are accepting that by committing max dollars to him and inserting him into the lineup ahead of others in the pecking order, they might upset the apple cart. You can argue that he’s not worth that risk, and it’s a fair assessment, but it isn’t like he’s a middling player, either. Instead of playing a game of false equivalencies like comparing him to some of the game’s icons (no one with any credibility is doing that, btw) or asserting that signing him means the Bruins (or any other team) are automatically Stanley Cup contenders, why not just settle in and see where this all takes us? Yes, there is a lot of hype around this player, and that’s also the reality we’re living in circa 2016.

Again- it isn’t Vesey’s fault that we live in an age where every single move is scrutinized to the nth degree. If he and his representation refused to answer questions about what they were doing, then people would criticize that and wonder what he was hiding. And let’s be fair and honest about this- Vesey isn’t the only one talking about his situation. Sources within the teams are telling reporters about meeting schedules and how interested their clubs are in his services. That’s not Vesey’s doing, but he’s the one taking the heat for feeding the beast.

Come the weekend, we’ll be glad the saga is over because it really has gone on too long. It’s just unfortunate that some out there simply can’t resist making someone out to be the villain in any story. If anything, Vesey is an example of facing adversity and rejection by being completely passed over in 2011 and turning that into a bidding war unlike any other we have seen surrounding a player who has yet to skate an NHL shift to date.

Right, wrong or indifferent- it will all be over soon and then we can look forward to seeing what all the fuss was about.

The prediction here is that while it may or may not come to the fore right away, Vesey will prove himself to be an NHL asset and fans will eventually get why he was so sought after.