Blackhawks Acquire Antoine Vermette From Arizona
By Chris Emma-
(CBS) Stan Bowman vowed to make the Blackhawks better before Monday's trade deadline, and the general manager delivered late Saturday night.
Chicago acquired 32-year-old Antoine Vermette from the Arizona Coyotes, in exchange for a 2015 first-round pick and 23-year-old defenseman Klas Dahlbeck.
Vermette has 13 goals and 22 assists on the season led the Coyotes. Now, he joins a Blackhawks roster needing an extra scoring punch to make up for the loss of Patrick Kane, out 12 weeks after surgery to repair a broken clavicle. The news made Vermette emotional after the Coyotes' 4-1 loss to Boston on Saturday, but became an additional challenge when he learned of the trade as the team charter was about to take off.
Upon discovering the news, the plane let Vermette loose and he flew to Chicago on Saturday.
"It was a very strange situation as you would guess," Vermette said. "I'm looking forward to a new chapter in my career coming up with an exciting team, the Chicago Blackhawks."
Vermette could possibly center the Blackhawks' second line, moving Brad Richards to the third line. However, he has yet to join the team -- likely first doing so on Monday for morning skate.
This was the Blackhawks' second major move in a 24-hour span. Late Friday night, Bowman acquired Kimmo Timonen from Philadelpha, giving up a second-round selection in 2015 and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2016. Both are expected to play on Monday night against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Like Timonen, Vermette is excited to be joining a team widely pegged as a Stanley Cup contender.
"I'm really excited," Vermette said. "This is a great opportunity."