When Harvard captain and Hobey Baker Award-winner Jimmy Vesey announced that he wouldn't be signing an NHL contract with the Nashville Predators, the assumption immediately became that the Boston-area native was likeliest to land with the Boston Bruins.
There were even reports that Vesey's top choice was to join the big, bad, Bru-crew.
But with several months to go before the NHL's free agency period kicks off in July, you just knew that there'd be more to this story, further reports and rumors of Vesey's potential interest in playing for Boston or any other team.
Well, the time has come for the next chapter of the Jimmy Vesey Free Agency Story.
Per a recent report, from a Bruins beat writer no less, there are "whispers" that Vesey has interest in playing for the Buffalo Sabres. Why, oh why, would Vesey want to join one of the worst teams in the league?
Because it would afford him the opportunity to play alongside Buffalo's first-round pick, second-overall selection Jack Eichel. Eichel and Vesey are close, played together on Team USA at last year's World Championships, and work out together in the Boston area in the offseason.
But is that enough to land Vesey in upstate New York?
"It's a great future here. It's a great city to play in. It's a great team to be a part of," Eichel said recently when asked what he'd say to pitch Vesey on joining the Sabres. "We have a young group that's headed in the right direction. It's definitely a hockey city. People care about you here. People would love to have you and it's a great place to play."
The Sabres certainly are young and, thanks to Tim Murray's work last offseason, have plenty of talent on the ice. It didn't translate to wins for Dan Bylsma's group in 2015-16, but the future seems bright once Robin Lehner returns to health and Evander Kane, Ryan O'Reilly and Eichel gel fully.
But that doesn't necessarily mean Vesey's got the Sabres in his cross-hairs.
"I think I just wanted to finish what I started at Harvard and make sure I'm around for the next month or so of school to graduate and walk at graduation and receive my diploma,'' Vesey said recently, while accepting his award. "I'm going to train hard this summer and make sure when August comes I'm ready to pick which team I want to go to and enter training camp and kind of hit the ground running.''
The Bruins, bounced from the NHL playoffs thanks to an unexpected Tuukka Rask illness and the subsequent heart-breaking 6-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators, could certainly use Vesey's size - 6-foot-3, 203-pounds - and skill - 24 goals and 46 assists in 33 games for the Crimson in 2015-16 - but there's no guarantee they'll be able to secure his services.
It's a marriage that makes sense for any number of reasons, and the notion of Vesey preferring Buffalo because of Eichel's presence seems thin at best.
But for a guy as talented as Vesey is, there will be no shortage of suitors. The Bruins may lead the pack and the Sabres may be in the running, but so are the Toronto Maple Leafs, who hired Vesey's dad as a scout and drafted his younger brother last year, and any number of other teams.
In short, we won't know anything until July 1, at which point, we'll know everything.
