The Boston Bruins fell short (once again) in missing their chance to grab free-agent Jimmy Vesey.
There can be an awful lot of pressure playing for your hometown team. Jimmy Vesey who chose to sign with the New York Rangers may have felt that pressure from Boston Bruins fans.
Last year’s Hobey Baker Award winner has a good relationship with the Hayes family. Two of the Hayes family play in the NHL, with Jimmy Hayes playing for the Black and Gold. Vesey may have seen the kind of vitriol the Bruins fans through at Hayes, and it could have certainly colored his perception against staying in Boston.
Bruins fans are extremely passionate about their team. When a player is doing well, they jubilantly congratulate the player. When a player is under-performing, they try to motivate him. When the player is consistently no meeting expectations, they tend to eviscerate him on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms.
Jimmy Hayes had a 29 point(13 goal) season with the Boston Bruins last year. The big 6’5″ forward wasn’t the most physical player on the team. Smaller players like Torey Krug, Brad Marchand, and even David Pastrnak were more physical throughout the season. Hayes’ performance was so underwhelming at times he found himself gravitating to the fourth line and (on occasion) the ninth level.
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The fan base certainly let Hayes have it. At times, the lit him up like a Christmas tree. To be fair, Hayes certainly deserved some of the flak he took last year. He was supposed to be the gritty, physical player that would shut down offensive chances and play great two-way hockey. He didn’t live up to that billing.
Vesey is expected to be a middle-six player next year. Early projections have him putting up a 30-point rookie season. Hayes had a 30-point season but didn’t live up to expectations. ‘Vesey Watch’ had certainly made Vesey out to be a better player than he may be.
Perhaps Vesey saw too many parallels between his friend’s current and his potential career, and it turned him away from the TD Garden. It’s entirely possible he was concerned about letting the fans down but not living up to the intense billing this free agency period put on him. In the end, all that hype led him to choose a team where there wouldn’t be as much outside pressure on him.