As I sleep so do the trades happen eh? Well always it seems. Waking up early for work and I see that a major trade went down. Fantastic. Well I’m awake and here to post some thoughts. I had hoped he Antoine Vermette would be a guy they would target, the lack of any conceivable depth at center was apparent and they seriously need a more skilled player to center the second line.
The trade involved Portland Pirates starter Curtis McElhinney, the second round pick acquired in the Kyle Turris trade with Ottawa and a 2013 5th round pick with the condition that it becomes a 4th round pick in 2013 if they win a playoff round. MacBackup is not expected to play again this season due to abdominal surgery.
I love this trade. Absolute robbery in my opinion. Vermette has struggled this year on a team that quite frankly is a mess. He’s a decent two-way guy who has some 45+ point potential if in the right environment. Last season going into the playoffs Eric Belanger was the number one center, this season it is Martin Hanzal, let me tell you I feel a lot more confident knowing that Vermette is the guy behind Hanzal. If Boyd Gordon or Daymond Langkow had to be the second line center then they would continue to have secondary scoring issues. He will slot very nicely between Shane Doan and Lauri Korpikoski.
Vermette is signed to a long term deal that will last until 2015 with a cap hit of 3.75 million. I suppose this is a good indication that the Coyotes are gunning for the playoffs and are going to be buyers going in to the stretch. With 8 goals and 27 points in 60 games for the Jackets, Vermette is having a poor season for his standards. Yet he is still a good option for the 2nd line. I don’t expect a complete resurgence; in fact I think he will play a similar role as he did in Columbus. The only difference is that Tippett gets the best from his players or they sit down (Unless you’re Derek Morris), Vermette is a hard working player, so I can see this working out.
I’m surprised at the cost for Vermette after seeing what Hal Gill and Kyle Quincey were worth, I guess it just shows that defensemen are always worth more when the post season comes around.
I love the trade, easy price and solid managing. Improving the team and only losing essentially a second round pick is great. Good value.
Thanks for reading.
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