Antoine Vermette

Columbus General Manager Scott Howson, looking for scoring help as his team attempted to make the playoffs for the first time in its history, was reportedly offering star goaltender Pascal Leclaire, who had finished second in fan voting among Western Conference goaltenders for the 56th NHL All-Star Game, in exchange for Vermette.

Antoine Vermette (born July 20, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played for 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Vermette played in the NHL for the Ottawa Senators, Columbus Blue Jackets, Arizona Coyotes, Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks.

As a youth, Vermette played in the 1995 and 1996 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with minor ice hockey teams from Chaudière-Appalaches, and South Shore in Quebec.

Vermette played four seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).

Drafted in the second round, 55th overall in 2000 by Ottawa, Vermette was a member of the 2007 Senators team that appeared in the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals.

Upon being drafted in the second round, 55th overall, by the Ottawa Senators at the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, he returned to the QMJHL for two more seasons and recorded a major junior career-high 119 points in 2000–01.

In his final year of junior, Vermette was limited to just four games during the regular season due to an mis-diagnosed nerve problem in his neck originally thought to be post-concussion syndrome.

He returned in the playoffs to contribute 26 points in 22 games, leading the Victoriaville Tigres to the 2002 President's Cup as QMJHL champions, as well as an appearance in the 2002 Memorial Cup in Guelph, Ontario, finishing with a silver medal from the tournament after falling in the finals to the Western Hockey League (WHL)'s Kootenay Ice.

Emerging from his major junior career, Vermette played the 2002–03 season with Ottawa's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Binghamton Senators.

In 74 games, he scored 18 goals and 20 assists and earned a place on the AHL All-Rookie Team.

The following season, 2003–04, Vermette earned an NHL roster spot with Ottawa out of training camp.

In his rookie NHL season, he would appear in 57 games, scoring 14 points.

During the 2004–05 NHL lock-out, Vermette returned to Binghamton and scored 28 goals and 45 assists, second in team scoring only to Jason Spezza.

As NHL play resumed the next season, Vermette broke out with 21 goals.

He proved to be a valuable part of the Senators' line-up, providing valuable secondary scoring behind the team's top line of Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson.

Vermette's six short-handed goals ranked second in the League in the statistic.

In light of the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Senators were considered Stanley Cup contenders by many, but were ultimately upset by the Buffalo Sabres in five games.

In the subsequent off-season, on July 18, Vermette signed a two-year, $2 million contract extension with Ottawa.

In 2006–07, Vermette continued to improve, increasing his points total to 39 points, spending the majority of the season on a checking line with fellow penalty-killer Chris Kelly.

The duo were rarely apart.

On December 2, 2006, Vermette famously scored from behind the net through his legs on the short side against the Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Johan Holmqvist.

The goal became well known around the League and was named TSN's "Goal of the Season."

During the 2007 playoffs, Vermette recorded five points in 20 games and helped the Senators to the Prince of Wales Trophy as Eastern Conference champions before ultimately losing the Stanley Cup to the Anaheim Ducks in five games.

Vermette recorded his first career hat-trick on April 3, 2008, against Vesa Toskala in an 8–2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

After completing another career-year in 2007–08, recording personal bests with 24 goals, 29 assists and 53 points, Vermette re-signed with the Senators on July 31, 2008, to a two-year, $2.525 million contract, thereby avoiding salary arbitration.

Leading up to the 2009 NHL trade deadline, Vermette was widely rumoured to be the centerpiece of trade talks between the Senators and the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The deal became official on March 4 when Vermette was traded to Columbus for Leclaire and Columbus' second-round pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, which Ottawa would ultimately use to select goaltender Robin Lehner.

Vermette would spend parts of four seasons with the Blue Jackets, recording 61 goals in 241 games.

Vermette was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes on February 22, 2012, in exchange for goaltender Curtis McElhinney, a 2012 second-round draft pick and a conditional 2013 fifth-round draft pick.

He would go on to score five goals with five assists for the Coyotes during the 2012 playoffs.

In both the 2012–13 and 2013–14 regular seasons with the Coyotes, Vermette finished in the top ten NHL leader list in faceoff win percentage; he finished both seasons with a faceoff win percentage above 56%.

On December 21, 2013, Vermette recorded his second career hat-trick in a 4–3 win against his former team, the Ottawa Senators.

Vermette's third goal of the night proved to be the game-winning goal in overtime.

Vermette recorded only three assists during the rest of the 2014-15 regular season without any goals.

Vermette won the Stanley Cup in 2015 with the Chicago Blackhawks.

On February 28, 2015, the Coyotes traded Vermette, a pending unrestricted free agent, to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Klas Dahlbeck and a 2015 first-round draft pick (Nick Merkley) at the trade deadline.

From the Coyotes to the Blackhawks, Vermette's role transitioned from a top-line forward to a role player with limited ice-time.

Vermette was a healthy scratch for the first two games of the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Shortly after being reinstated into the line-up, Vermette scored his first goal as a Blackhawk against the Nashville Predators on April 22.