Antoine Vermette Appreciation Thread
- Thread starter SniperHF
- Start date
Great Coyote. played a huge role in ending a 25 year playoff series drought. I as a fan am forever grateful for that accomplishment.
TheLegend
Megathread Gadfly
Matias Maccete
Chopping up defenses
- Sep 21, 2014
- 9,699
- 3,621
Had his ups and downs but overall was a great player to have. He'll be missed, unless of course both dvorak and strome have seasons like domi and duke last year.
ck26
Alcoholab User
Antoine Vermette, Derek Morris, Dave Moss, Keith Yandle, Lauri Korpikoski, Dave Schlemko, Mikkel Boedker, Ryan Kesler in Vancouver, Erik Karlsson sucking at defense and Tyson Nash describing a muffin as juicy ... these two videos check all the boxes! You'll be missed, Antoine!
ck26
Alcoholab User
I was thinking about this today while eating lunch. Don't know why it popped into my head.
2013-14 season, probably November, STH meet-the-team event. Players were scattered around the 4 corners of the arena at tables signing jerseys, posters, whatever. I had some pucks I wanted to get autographed and had some vacation / restaurant advice questions for Vermy (Ottawa), Boedker (Denmark) and Halpern.
Distinctly remember Vermette being the "first" guy at his table of 4, and there was an absolute traffic jam of people wanting to talk to him, take a picture, etc. I talk to Vermette briefly, love watching you play, etc. Rob Klinkhammer and Thomas Greiss were both at his table, and I'm asking Klink about his tenure in the WHL with Seattle and throwing stupid, poorly-constructed German questions at Greiss.
(A big "danke schoen" to him, because he wasn't getting paid enough that season to put up with my nonsense.)
So I hand my Thunderbirds puck to Klink and my Cologne Sharks puck to Greiss, they both autograph them for me, cool, thanks guys, and I look back at the crowd that is not moving from Vermette.
There are a couple of red 50 jerseys laid out in front of him and 4 or 5 people crowded around him. And the guy's got an airplane pillow around his neck. You know the horseshoe-shaped ones you get at the airport? I do a double-take because I was JUST talking to the guy and it wasn't there while he was recommending The Keg (chain steakhouse) and a place called Sterling in the Ottawa suburb of Gatineau. And this dang pillow has a little Coyote head and "Vermy" embroidered on it, because the old lady in line behind me made him a dang Coyote airplane pillow. And I thank Klink and Greiss and leave the table, and look back and Vermette is smiling like a champ and answering questions and just having a good old time. And the line isn't moving.
I don't know why that has stuck with me, almost three years now, but the love for that guy ran deep. Same when he came back in spring of 2015 with the Blackhawks and got a video tribute and a big, big ovation from the crowd. He almost certainly left money and term on the table when he signed back here last summer. No way that 2 years, $7.5m was the high bid. No way. But he really wanted to be here. I dunno ... if he doesn't generate many even strength points/60 and his penalties committed vs penalties drawn ratio was out of whack, so be it, maybe we'll be a better team on the ice next year. But damnit, people loved Antoine Vermette.
2013-14 season, probably November, STH meet-the-team event. Players were scattered around the 4 corners of the arena at tables signing jerseys, posters, whatever. I had some pucks I wanted to get autographed and had some vacation / restaurant advice questions for Vermy (Ottawa), Boedker (Denmark) and Halpern.
Distinctly remember Vermette being the "first" guy at his table of 4, and there was an absolute traffic jam of people wanting to talk to him, take a picture, etc. I talk to Vermette briefly, love watching you play, etc. Rob Klinkhammer and Thomas Greiss were both at his table, and I'm asking Klink about his tenure in the WHL with Seattle and throwing stupid, poorly-constructed German questions at Greiss.
(A big "danke schoen" to him, because he wasn't getting paid enough that season to put up with my nonsense.)
So I hand my Thunderbirds puck to Klink and my Cologne Sharks puck to Greiss, they both autograph them for me, cool, thanks guys, and I look back at the crowd that is not moving from Vermette.
There are a couple of red 50 jerseys laid out in front of him and 4 or 5 people crowded around him. And the guy's got an airplane pillow around his neck. You know the horseshoe-shaped ones you get at the airport? I do a double-take because I was JUST talking to the guy and it wasn't there while he was recommending The Keg (chain steakhouse) and a place called Sterling in the Ottawa suburb of Gatineau. And this dang pillow has a little Coyote head and "Vermy" embroidered on it, because the old lady in line behind me made him a dang Coyote airplane pillow. And I thank Klink and Greiss and leave the table, and look back and Vermette is smiling like a champ and answering questions and just having a good old time. And the line isn't moving.
I don't know why that has stuck with me, almost three years now, but the love for that guy ran deep. Same when he came back in spring of 2015 with the Blackhawks and got a video tribute and a big, big ovation from the crowd. He almost certainly left money and term on the table when he signed back here last summer. No way that 2 years, $7.5m was the high bid. No way. But he really wanted to be here. I dunno ... if he doesn't generate many even strength points/60 and his penalties committed vs penalties drawn ratio was out of whack, so be it, maybe we'll be a better team on the ice next year. But damnit, people loved Antoine Vermette.
_Del_
Registered User
- Jul 4, 2003
- 15,426
- 6,738
I think he was a glue guy. Easy to like. Still don't understand the rationale behind this other than saving half a million dollars, but his play last year wasn't amazing to be sure. Did a lot of good work over the years for the club (and helped us feel better about the Turris trade).
Blubba Jenkins
Not that Insightful
Seemed like a good guy, and more often than not the effort was there. I don't think he left much of a mark though.
zerekstar
Registered User
He was a class act. Hope he finds another team to play with. He was one of my favorites but it seems like age is catching up with him unfortunately.
He is a very classy individual and I wish him the best. I was thinking when DM signed Vermette to that last contract how we all thought it was a steal because I believe there was talk his was looking at and might get 5 mill. a year.
You just never know with players when they get to that age. I still hope he signs with a team for this year.
So all in all....
Draft Turris (own Turris)
Traded Turris for Rundblad and 2nd (own Rundblad + 2nd)
Trade 2nd for Vermette (own Rundblad + Vermette)
Trade Rundblad for 2nd (own 2nd + Vermette)
Draft Dvorak with 2nd (own Dvorak + Vermette)
Trade Vermette for 1st and Dahlbeck (own Dvorak + 1st + Dahlbeck)
Draft Merkley with 1st (own Dvorak + Merkley + Dahlbeck)
Thank you, Antoine.
Draft Turris (own Turris)
Traded Turris for Rundblad and 2nd (own Rundblad + 2nd)
Trade 2nd for Vermette (own Rundblad + Vermette)
Trade Rundblad for 2nd (own 2nd + Vermette)
Draft Dvorak with 2nd (own Dvorak + Vermette)
Trade Vermette for 1st and Dahlbeck (own Dvorak + 1st + Dahlbeck)
Draft Merkley with 1st (own Dvorak + Merkley + Dahlbeck)
Thank you, Antoine.
zerekstar
Registered User
DesertDawg
Registered User
Vermette thread on main board summary:
Seriously why did AZ buy him out? Answered 18 times. No, but seriously why did AZ buy him out? Repeat.
Kaibur
Registered User
I think it's because they have a preconceived notion that this is an exercise in cap circumvention and are surprised that there was a logic behind this based on actual performance.
Kaibur
Registered User
For some, sure.
But for a lot of people who didn't watch the Yotes, they remember that Vermette was the top UFA center last season and he took a very unexpected sweetheart deal to return to AZ. I was expecting him to sign a 4 year deal last year, so I think he left some pretty significant money on the table. If he'd signed 4 X $3.75M last year, I think most people would have thought it was pretty fair. We all thought he had done the club a favor and Maloney had done good work at the deadline by moving Vermette & Z, then signing them back.
I'm not convinced by the stats/usage argument. I think there's at least as strong of a counterargument. Vermette fell off a cliff for the first 2/3, but he had been on the Stanley Cup team, playing into June. Very possible there was a lingering exhaustion. The last 1/3 of the season was good. The possibility of a bounceback, even with limited usage, still very much exists. Additionally, it would have been a contract year, providing extra motivation. We've already sunk the money into the player/position, so we should bite the bullet and hope the investment plays out in the longer term. That's what happens when you sign deals longer than 1 year. Our lack of veteran center depth leaves us in a poor position to protect our rookies and leaves us less likely to make the playoffs. Dvorak said after rookie camp that he was just as comfortable playing wing, and Vermette has played wing, so the claim that they did it to open a roster spot for a rookie doesn't hold water for me.
None of that argument has to do with cap circumvention, so I think there's some justifiable confusion as to this buyout.
I won't be surprised if Vermette goes to a contender, sees limited usage, and has a solid year in a supporting role.
_Del_
Registered User
- Jul 4, 2003
- 15,426
- 6,738
Agree. Vermette was a sunk cost. There is virtually no savings, and no upside to this move, imo. Saves half a million? Are we so hard up for cash that we cut a veteran roster player where we are thin to save 625k (maximum)?
Noone thought Vermette was a "net negative on the ice" before that became the official story. I can't think of a single post here indicating he was a net negative or that we'd be a better team without him until after the buyout. Despite a bad start to last year, everyone thought he represented valuable center depth while we integrated young players.
From a short term view though, it does fit the pattern of minimizing expenses this year by deferring extra expenses to next... Maybe they think they'll be in a better position to absorb expenses next year. That doesn't mean the team is moving, but I doubt an interim arena deal in the valley is going to be more palatable financially than this year.
