Hawks acquire Vermette from Phoenix...

[Polaris922]

Hawks are all in boys...

http://m.thn.com/blog/chicago-acquires-antoine-vermette-from-arizona-for-first-round-pick-klas-dahlbeck/

Antoine Vermette didn’t have to wait until Monday to find out where he’s going to finish the 2014-15 season.

Late Saturday, the Chicago Blackhawks and Arizona Coyotes came to terms on a deal involving the veteran center. The trade sees defensive prospect Klas Dahlbeck and a first-round pick in 2015 going to the Coyotes, meeting what Arizona was reportedly demanding for Vermette.

Vermette, 32, was one of the big prizes this deadline, and the acquisition by the Blackhawks appears to be a sign the team intends on spending every last dollar of the cap relief they received when winger Patrick Kane went down with a shoulder injury and was subsequently placed on long-term injured reserve.

In 63 games this season, Vermette has registered 13 goals and 35 points while skating 19 minutes a game. Vermette is on pace for 46 points this season, one point better than his 45-point total in 2014-15.

What made Vermette such an attractive option for teams in contention, though, is his two-way ability and skill at the faceoff dot. While there has been great debate about the analytical importance of faceoffs, for those in the camp that faceoff wins are of utmost importance – especially in the playoffs – landing Vermette meant acquiring one of the best faceoff men in the league. As of the Saturday evening, Vermette sits eighth in the league, winning 56 percent of his draws.

Obviously, however, he is a much different player than Kane, whose absence from the lineup opened the door for the Blackhawks to acquire Vermette. While Kane is a dynamic offensive player who slots in on the top two lines, Vermette will likely play primarily second- and third-line minutes, replacing Andrew Shaw in the Blackhawks’ bottom-six and allowing Shaw to move to the wing.

Already Chicago has toyed with moving Shaw out of the middle and back to the wing, his natural position, by slotting Teuvo Teravainen between Shaw and Bryan Bickell. Vermette’s acquisition allows coach Joel Quenneville to move Shaw to the wing full time if he so wishes.

In addition, it adds to Chicago’s center depth in a big way. The Blackhawks, who have long chased proper center help, will now boast Jonathan Toews, Brad Richards, Marcus Kruger and Vermette down the middle.

What makes Vermette so costly for Chicago, though, is that the Blackhawks gave up one of their burgeoning defensemen and a first-round selection for a rental player that is very unlikely to be back in the Windy City following the playoffs. The Blackhawks are extremely tight to the salary cap ceiling and Vermette will command a healthy salary on the open market, one that Chicago won’t be able to afford. Vermette’s current cap hit is $3.75 million in the final year of his deal.

Because of the Blackhawks’ cap situation, many are seeing this season as Chicago’s last real shot at bringing home a Stanley Cup with their current lineup. With Toews’ and Kane’s new contracts, which carry a cap hit of $10.5 million each, kicking in next season, the Blackhawks will likely be forced to shed salary around their star duo, much like they did following their 2010 championship.

Chicago already has roughly $53.7 million committed next season and will have to come to terms with restricted free agents Kruger and Brandon Saad, and make decisions about other RFAs such as Joakim Nordstrom, Tim Erixon and David Rundblad. The Blackhawks will also have a massive hole on the blueline next year, as only Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith and Niklas Hjalmarsson are currently under contract for 2015-16.

As for the Coyotes side of the deal, Dahlbeck, 23, is a 6-foot-2, 194-pound blueliner who suited up for four games with the Blackhawks this season. In his third season with Chicago’s AHL affiliate in Rockford, Dahlbeck has scored four goals and 10 points in 49 games. That offensive upside is the plus of Dahlbeck’s game, though. For the most part, he’ll be relied upon as a stay-at-home defender.

The Coyotes have made it clear they want to build for the future and keep getting younger, and the acquisition of Dahlbeck and the first-round pick should be able to help Arizona expedite the process of icing a young, competitive team.

Vermette was one of the biggest names available on the market and the trade shows that the prices for playoff rentals are as high as they have been in recent years. Deadline day is going to be big, if for no other reason than we can expect some huge payments as teams scramble to pin down the final pieces for a playoff run.

[yave1964]

 Anyone who knows me knows that I consider Vermette one of those players who is nearly a hidden star, an under the radar player who may not bring 85-95 points a year but he does everything else that does not appear in the score sheet. He is consistently in the top 10 or better in faceoffs, never complains, plays both ends fo the ice and can score. I loved him in Columbus, that is when I first began to notice him. Chicago paid the price and got there first, between Vermette, the recall of Teravainen and Kimmo they haven't replaced Kane, that is of course impossible, but they have rebuilt on the fly over a weeks time and deserve props.  

[JackStraw]

I've been reading the Hawks forum on hfboards and I've learned a few things (about the Hawks of course). The key thing seems to be that the fans in general apparently think that this is the last year with this group to go for the Cup. Kane and Toews have new contracts which will be kicking in and that will sqeeze them at the cap, at the cost of Sharp and maybe Hossa too. So it definitely seems like they're going all in this year.

[Polaris922]

I've been reading the Hawks forum on hfboards and I've learned a few things (about the Hawks of course). The key thing seems to be that the fans in general apparently think that this is the last year with this group to go for the Cup. Kane and Toews have new contracts which will be kicking in and that will sqeeze them at the cap, at the cost of Sharp and maybe Hossa too. So it definitely seems like they're going all in this year.

I agree with that. Their new contracts will bring them to worse than the Pens have had it as I believe they get more than Crosby & Malkin. I could be wrong but I remember wondering how the Hawks could afford it.