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Toronto Maple Leafs: Is the Jimmy Vesey Experiment Over?

By Stephen Nixon

TORONTO, ON - FEBRUARY 15: Jimmy Vesey #26 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates against the Ottawa Senators during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on February 15, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Senators defeated the Maple Leafs 6-5 in overtime. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - FEBRUARY 15: Jimmy Vesey #26 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates against the Ottawa Senators during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on February 15, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Senators defeated the Maple Leafs 6-5 in overtime. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /
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The Toronto Maple Leafs brought in Jimmy Vesey with hopes that he could resurrect his career but it feels like the experiment is over.

Like many others, I thought that Vesey would excel in Toronto’s system. In fact, I was so confident that I wrote an article detailing that he should be on the first-line to start the season. After 16 games, that was clearly a foolish take to have.

Vesey has unfortunately done nothing positive this entire season. In limited action, he has two goals and one assist. Although he’s found the back of the net twice, he only has 17 shot attempts in 16 games played. Based on that logic, he’s on pace to score six goals this season.

As a result, maybe it wasn’t the Buffalo Sabres system that kept him off the scoresheet. Maybe Vesey just isn’t a quality NHL player anymore?

When Joe Thornton, Wayne Simmonds and Nick Robertson got injured, it gave Vesey a chance to perform in a top-six role. Instead, he let that opportunity slip away and now that the team is getting healthier, it’s only going to limit his ice-time.

Jimmy Vesey Experiment is Done

If you look at the Toronto Maple Leafs roster, it’s only going to improve as this team gets closer to the playoffs.

Although it’s not a huge addition, Alex Galchenyuk joining the roster will only decrease Vesey’s minutes. Also, once Nick Robertson and Wayne Simmonds return, I can’t see a world where Vesey’s not in the press box.

Based on his recent play, Travis Boyd has earned an opportunity to stay in the lineup every night, so in a perfect world, here’s what the Leafs best roster should look like:

  • Joe Thornton – Auston Matthews – Mitch Marner
  • Zach Hyman – John Tavares – William Nylander
  • Nick Robertson – Alex Kerfoot – Ilya Mikheyev
  • Wayne Simmonds – Travis Boyd – Jason Spezza

Also, although this roster looks solid, expect the Leafs to add another piece as the team gets closer to the NHL Trade Deadline.

It’s crazy that Toronto is still the best team in the North Division, despite missing a player that may have the best snap-shot outside of the NHL (Nick Robertson). Once the Toronto Maple Leafs are able to replace Vesey with Robertson, they will have a legitimate scoring weapon on three lines.

Although it hasn’t worked, it shouldn’t be anything to worry about. There was no harm in taking a flyer on Vesey, who makes less than $1M to see whether or not he could prove himself in a better system. The exact same thing applies to Galchenyuk, Thornton, Simmonds, Mikheyev and Barabanov.

Next. Leafs Loss to Ottawa Is Best Thing for Toronto. dark

Sometimes it works and sometimes it fails. However, in the case of Jimmy Vesey, it’s time for him to call a cab and head to the taxi-squad.

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