The Arizona Coyotes have placed veteran forward Antoine Vermette on waivers with the intention of buying out his contract, reports Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.ca.
https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/760147869495992320
Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM reports Vermette’s proposed buyout will cover $2.5 million of the remaining $3.75 million owed to him next season. The Coyotes will split a $1.25 million cost over two seasons.
as reported by @craigsmorgan, Antoine Vermette's buyout will carry a cap hit of $1.25M in each of the next 2 seasons pic.twitter.com/bkcUSBohTT
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) August 1, 2016
The move was made to save money on Vermette’s contract, but it doesn’t make it any less odd.
Vermette, 34, has been a productive scorer for the Coyotes over the last half-decade. In 2015-16, he scored 17 goals and 38 points. He wasn’t particularly effective outside his offensive game but was a solid middle-six forward for the club. At $3.75 million, the Coyotes should have been able to at least trade him for something. They reportedly tried, but were unable to find a deal they liked.
Arizona may want to get younger, so a buyout will give another prospect a chance to just into the lineup, but it’s an odd way to end such a long relationship. General manager John Chayka says the move was made with the future in mind.
Coyotes explanation for buying out Vermette. pic.twitter.com/V0Ca0XeF1a
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) August 1, 2016
Where do the Coyotes go next? Friedman speculated they could use the room to give space to prospects, but mentioned they could “do something else.” What might that be? A potential offer sheet to a restricted free agent? A big trade?
It’s hard to say at this point, as any guesses would be pure speculation. Vermette’s buyout could be purely to save a little bit of money on a player Arizona simply didn’t want anymore.
Vermette won’t be a free agent very long. Tons of clubs will be interested in adding scoring depth to their roster at a relatively cheap cost. The Coyotes, meanwhile, gain cap room to give them flexibility going forward.
