Sabres acquire Jimmy Vesey's rights from Predators

Two months after Jimmy Vesey told David Poile and the Nashville Predators that he wouldn’t be signing with them, the college prospect's rights have been dealt to the Buffalo Sabres.

Vesey heads to the Sabres in exchange for Buffalo’s third-round pick this weekend (76th overall). They now have an exclusive window to negotiate a contract until Aug. 15 before he’s eligible to hit the unrestricted free agent market.

"Just as the rights to Jimmy Vesey were an asset for us, so is a third-round pick. We just moved forward on this,” Poile told Adam Vingan of The Tennessean.

(This is the sixth different owner of that No. 76 pick after Anaheim, New Jersey, Florida, Minnesota and Buffalo.)

This is a smart move by GM Tim Murray. Knowing that Vesey and Sabres forward Jack Eichel are buds (and share the same agent) should make him confident in trying convince the 2016 Hobey Baker Award winner of signing. And as Murray told TSN’s Bob McKenzie, the team had four third-round picks; might as well use one to acquire a potential future asset.

Plus, with the Sabres in rebuild mode, Murray can also use the enticement of a top-6 spot in his pitch to Vesey's camp.

Considering the near-annual tradition of the NHL Draft host city making a splash at some point during the festivities, we have a feeling Murray isn't done making news this week as he continues to re-shape the Sabres' roster.

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy

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