Rangers GM Jeff Gorton lands Jimmy Vesey, earns kudos for offseason work

In Jeff Gorton’s second summer as New York Rangers general manager, he’s proven he can be aggressive and effective without throwing caution to the wind.

Any doubt  about whether Gorton can deliver has been erased by an eventful summer culminated by the Friday signing of free agent Jimmy Vesey, the Harvard graduate who is viewed as an NHL-ready scoring winger.

Vesey could have signed with Pittsburgh to play with Sidney Crosby or committed to Buffalo to play with his buddy Jack Eichel. He had the option of joining his father (a scout) and brother (a prospect) in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. He could have stayed in Massachusetts and signed with the Boston Bruins

Instead, Gorton persuaded him to become a Ranger.

The offseason started with Rangers fans hoping Gorton would find a way to trade Rick Nash and/or Dan Girardi as a means to remedy the franchise’s salary cap woes.

New York Rangers agree to terms with coveted Jimmy Vesey

Realistically, that wish was somewhere between challenging and impractical.

Gorton focused on signing prospect winger Pavel Buchnevich out of the KHL. Knowing that re-signing Keith Yandle was not feasible, he traded for 6-4 defenseman Nick Holden, who has 221 games of NHL experience. While not the sexiest move of the summer, it will serve the Rangers' best interest because Holden played almost 22 minutes per game last season. He adds to their depth.

Gorton improved the Rangers’ team speed and penalty kill by signing inexpensive free agents Michael Grabner (two years, $3.3 million) and Nathan Gerbe (one year, $600,000).

Then Gorton swapped centers when he traded Derick Brassard to the Ottawa Senators for Mika Zibanejad and a second-round pick. Zibanejad, a right-handed shot, is almost six years younger and less expensive. He recorded 21 goals and 51 points last season, and over the past three years, Brassard (1.75 points per 60 minutes) and Zibanejad (1.73) have produced at nearly the same rate at even strength, according to stats.hockeyanalysis.com. Plus, Zibanejad is bigger at 220 pounds, not insignificant for a team that wants to be more challenging to play against.

How Vesey's skills will translate at the NHL level is unknown. Many teams chased after college free agent Justin Schultz believing he was going to be star NHL defenseman. Schultz hasn’t become the difference-maker scouts expected him to be.

However, scouts are convinced that Vesey will able to find the net. He has a goal scorer’s instincts, a knack for being able to slide into the cracks in defensive coverage. He had 56 goals in 70 games during his last two years at Harvard.

In other words, the Rangers may have landed star without giving up an asset, mostly on the strength of Gorton’s recruiting ability.

It’s too early to draw any grand conclusions about Gorton’s ability as a GM. We haven’t seen his work reflected in the standings. But we know his style seems to be less flash, and more subtlety. He is trying to make his climb one step at a time, instead of trying to solve every problem in one offseason. That may be the wisest approach.

Gorton has improved his team without taking one of the major risks that have long been part of the Rangers’ history.