Welcome to another edition of the Hockeybuzz hotstove.
According to Elliotte Friedman's 30 Thoughts, Antoine Vermette is likely to be traded by the Coyotes, so in this edition we decided to look at which teams would be good fits for his services.
Todd Cordell: Detroit Red Wings
I think Detroit would be a very good fit for Vermette, as he could go in there and play second-fiddle, so to speak.
With Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Gustav Nyquist and co. Vermette wouldn't be relied upon to be the go-to-guy offensively, though he could obviously still contribute.
Vermette is a guy capable of playing in any situation, and he could chew up some tough minutes to free up Detroit's dynamic offensive talents.
He's a versatile two-way player and in my opinion he just seems like one of those guys who would fit like a glove there.
Adam French: Montreal Canadiens Vermette being the defacto top liner for the Coyotes has sort of blurred the lines on who and what he is, but there's no doubt that he's the player any contender would love. I was tempted to say Pittsburgh, but with them investing in David Perron there isn't a deal to be made. Also going with Perron, if he can get an expected late first rounder, you have to think that's the price for a two-way centre with elite face-off abilities like Vermette.
My pick is the Canadiens. Yes defense is their biggest need, but I think Vermette is as good as Plekanec, or at least extremely similar. That would help make them an even harder team to play against and give them one of the more balanced forward units in the East, if not the league. It would also allow for them not to have to throw Malhotra out for every face-off, Malhotra blows now, I'm sorry, but he does. He can win a draw and scramble to the bench, that's it. Malhotra has taken 601 face-offs for the Habs averaging 11 minutes a night, that's just bad and shows one big problem. With Vermette you don't need to throw out a marginal fourth liner out there so often.
Plek Vermette Desharnais
Not the biggest names, but that lets Desharnais get the easy matchups and could free Plek for more offensive opportunities.
James Tanner I hate to be a fence-sitter, but I can't really tell you what team should acquire Antoine Vermette, but that is because every team should acquire Antoine Vermette.
If you hope to win some games this April, you could do worse than adding the versatile Vermette - he gives you everything you could want, offense, defense, the ability to kill penalties, play centre or the wing.
Basically what you have is a guy that will improve any team and can play anywhere in your lineup. It's doubthful that there is another pure rental available who can have Vermette's impact. That being said, no one should be signing him for six million/year unless its for two years or less.
I just can't narrow it down to one team, as every team who wants to win should be pursuing him.
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