With the Toronto Maple Leafs officially over the Steven Stamkos sweepstakes, attention has shifted to the possibility of adding pending unrestricted free agent forward Jimmy Vesey to the fold later this summer.

Selected by the Nashville Predators in the third round of the 2012 draft, Vesey, 23, was promised a roster spot in Music City at the end of the 2015-16 season after he finished his college career at Harvard. Instead, he exercised his right to not sign with the Predators in March with plans to hit the open market on August 15.

That has led to plenty of talk about the left winger's connections to the Maple Leafs and if the team will make a push to sign him. Vesey's father, Jim Sr., is a scout in the Leafs organization and his younger brother, Nolan, was drafted in the sixth round by Toronto in 2014.

The Buffalo Sabres acquired Vesey's rights from Nashville last month and hold them until August 15. Unless a deal is signed with Buffalo before then, Vesey will be open to other NHL suitors.

"At the end of the day, Jimmy's going to make his own decision," Nolan Vesey said at Leafs development camp Wednesday, while denying Toronto had an upper hand on account of family ties.

"Obviously I've thought about playing with him before, he's my brother. It would be cool, but I want what's best for him and he's going to choose the team that's the best fit for him."

In four seasons at Harvard, Vesey (6-foot-1, 194 pounds) produced 144 points (80 goals, 64 assists) in 128 games. The Massachusetts native was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference's Player of the Year and the Ivy League Player of the Year in 2015 and 2016 and was a top-three finalist for the Hobey Baker Award in 2015 after leading the country in goal scoring. 

Vesey also won the Hobey Baker after his senior season, on the strength of his 46-point (24 goals, 22 assists) campaign.

With an impressive college resume and more NHL readiness than many of Toronto's forward prospects, completing the Vesey family sweep would be another way to help the Maple Leafs move forward.

But Vesey's not available until the middle of August and whatever interest the Maple Leafs have in pursuing his services would be done against a number of competitors. Vesey's agent, Peter Fish, told The Associated Press last month he wouldn't rule anything out when it came to where his client signs.
 
"His plan all along was to see it through," Fish said of Vesey going to free agency. "And everything that's he's been through with the whole thing in Nashville [it] would be kind of silly not to try to play it out as best as possible."

While offering no hints about where Vesey's head might be at now, his brother echoed Fish's sentiments.

"August 15 comes around and he'll make the best decision for himself," Nolan added. "[The next month]'s going to be pretty hectic. A lot of people can assume he's going here or there or anywhere, but it's going to come down to what's the best fit for him and what he thinks is going to be best for his career."