On Monday, Jimmy Vesey will be a free agent. His suitors are getting ready.

New Jersey Devils general manager Ray Shero is one of them:

Vesey, 23, is playing in the Foxboro Sports Center Pro League this summer with Team Harlow.

A former second-round pick of the Nashville Predators, Vesey's negotiating rights were traded to the Buffalo Sabres, but he'll hit the market officially on Aug. 15.

A CSNNE.com report Wednesday cited two anonymous sources who said the Boston Bruins, thought to be very much in the mix for Vesey, are not among the forward's top three choices. One of those two sources said the top three is comprised of the Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, and Devils.

With speculation rampant over Vesey's final destination, WKBW in Buffalo managed to get a statement from the player's representatives:

There are no front runners. Jimmy will go through the process and Buffalo will be part of that process. Everything said or read until that time is speculation.

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Well done, Maple Leafs.

As part of Toronto's centennial season celebrations, the club's creating new banners to replace those that hang in the rafters at the Air Canada Centre, of players who've had their numbers honored.

On Wednesday, with The Tragically Hip in town, one of those banners was back in its usual spot - Bill Barilko's.

The Hip, of course, pay tribute to Barilko in their legendary hit "Fifty Mission Cap," and in what is likely their last three shows in Toronto due to the ailing health of Gord Downie, the banner is precisely where it belongs.

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It's been almost 18 years since Felix Potvin played goal for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but his legacy is strong.

Antoine Bibeau, a 22-year-old goaltending prospect drafted in the sixth round by Toronto in 2013, is doing his part to make sure Potvin - who was in the crease during two remarkable playoff runs in 1993 and 1994 - is never forgotten.

Check out Bibeau's new mask, which pays tribute to a fellow goalie from Quebec:

(Courtesy: @zonorange)

Bibeau had a .909 save percentage with the AHL's Toronto Marlies last season, and will be back with the farm team in 2016-17.

Potvin burst onto the scene in 1993, finishing as a Calder Trophy finalist and taking over in the crease after Toronto dealt veteran Grant Fuhr to the Buffalo Sabres in a trade that netted the club Dave Andreychuk.

Known affectionately as "The Cat," Potvin's best years came in Toronto. He spent eight seasons in blue and white, winning 160 games and finishing with a .908 save percentage. The mark was the highest of his career, which saw him play in Los Angeles, Long Island, Vancouver, and Boston.

- With h/t to Sportsnet

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Zach Parise can't wait to put on American colors. Especially after the way his season ended in the spring.

A lower-back injury cost the Minnesota Wild winger his chance to play in the Stanley Cup playoffs, but he's on the mend and looking forward to taking the ice in Toronto at the World Cup in September.

"I feel like I'll be fine to play," Parise told NHL.com's Tom Gulitti. The veteran will get the final word from doctors before he heads north, but he isn't harboring doubts about his availability.

Parise called the opportunity to play for the U.S. "special."

"I hate saying it," the 32-year-old added, "but especially where I am in my career as it's going by, you just don't know how many opportunities again you're going to get."

Parise had 25 goals and 28 assists in 70 games in 2015-16. His next regular-season goal will be No. 300 in his career. Injuries were the story in 2016, though. He played through leg issues before his back forced him out of the Wild lineup. He watched as his club lost in six games in the first round to the Dallas Stars.

The Minneapolis native called his injury troubles "scary," and while he didn't have surgery, intense physical therapy has led to progress. He's skating and hopes to be "back to normal" before leaving for Toronto.

The World Cup begins Sept. 17, with American training camp opening up Sept. 4.

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James Wisniewski is getting a second chance.

The free-agent defenseman has signed a professional tryout contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning, according to James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail.

The 32-year-old played just 47 seconds in his first game in his lone campaign with the Carolina Hurricanes after suffering a severe knee injury that required season-ending surgery.

While he has not seen action in nearly a year, prior to last season, Wisniewski split time with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Anaheim Ducks and hit a career high of eight goals in 69 games. During the 2013-14 season, Wisniewski managed a career-best 51 points in 75 games.

With just six defensemen under contract heading into next season and Nikita Nesterov still without a contract, Wisniewski could prove to be a valuable depth option for the Lightning.

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Considering the game's pageantry, beauty, and finesse, is there any question that hockey is a work of art?

The answer is no, according to Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews, who explained in exquisite detail what makes the game an art form in his latest ad for Canadian Tire.

Toews' name, of course, already appears three times on the greatest masterpiece in sports, the Stanley Cup.

- With h/t to BarDown

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Age will not be a factor when John Chayka picks the Arizona Coyotes' roster next season.

The 27-year-old general manager is entering his first NHL campaign, and has the luxury of one of the deepest prospect pools in the league, which he plans to utilize during training camp in September.

Among the prospects knocking on the Coyotes' door are 2015 third overall pick Dylan Strome, who claims to be done with junior, and Christian Dvorak, the 20-year-old center coming off a 121-point season with the Memorial Cup champion London Knights.

Of all things Chayka will consider when piecing together his final roster, age won't matter, as he aims to ice a team of the best players at his disposal.

"We're not going around looking at birth certificates making decisions," Chayka told Nicholas Cotsonika of NHL.com. "If they're ready to play, they're ready to play."

Other prominent prospects in the Coyotes' system include 2016 seventh overall pick Clayton Keller, 2014 first-round pick Brendan Perlini, 2015 first-rounder Nick Merkley, and defenseman Jakob Chychrun, taken 16th overall in in this year's entry draft.

While Chayka is willing to give the youngsters a shot, he understands the balance between asset management and rushing a player into the pros.

"We put ourselves in a good position with a good group of young players, and you don't want to rush anything," Chayka said. "You want to do it right."

Chayka, whose made a massive splash in his first three months on the job through drafting, signings, and trades, appears to have Arizona fast-tracking to sustainable success.

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Hockey, it's just around the corner.

The NHL announced its full 2016 preseason schedule on Wednesday, which will begin Sept. 25 when the St. Louis Blues play a pair of split-squad games versus the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Afterward, the 106-game schedule features plenty of new venues, including T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, where the Los Angeles Kings will take on the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche Oct. 7 and 8 respectively.

Elsewhere, the Edmonton Oilers will officially begin their first season at the swanky new Rogers Arena against the Calgary Flames Sept. 26, while on the same day, the Toronto Maple Leafs face off against the Ottawa Senators in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The regular season gets underway Oct. 12.

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The San Jose Sharks have a new look, kind of.

The club unveiled three new secondary logos to be used for merchandise and promotions, while the current logos and jerseys will remain the same.

The new look was designed by Terry Smith, a Bay Area artist that created the original team logo in 1991 when the Sharks entered the league.

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Two months after competing for the Stanley Cup with the San Jose Sharks, forward Nick Spaling is heading to Switzerland, signing with Geneve Servette on a one-year contract, according to Swisshockeynews.ch, backed by the team's official website.

The 27-year-old was drafted in the second round by the Nashville Predators in 2007, and spent last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs prior to being dealt to San Jose before the trade deadline.

Spaling recorded 13 points in 58 games between the two clubs last year, and suited up in all 24 of the Sharks' playoff contests.

He joins former NHLers Mike Santorelli and Jim Slater on a Geneve team that finished in third place in National League A in 2015-16 - the top tier of the Swiss national ice hockey league.

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