The Blue Jackets have reportedly signed two-way centre Antoine Vermette to a brand new contract extension on Tuesday. The extension is reportedly for 5-years (after the 2009-'10 season) for $18.75 million over the duration of the deal. Vermette was acquired by the Blue Jackets from Ottawa around the deadline last season to help sure up the middle of the ice for the young team, as they moved towards their first visit to the playoffs. During the year, Vermette played in 79 games and registered 41 points (16G, 25A) between the two teams. He will likely be looked upon for some of the same (if not better) production in the coming year.
Well, since he's signing an extension, he doesn't have an effect on the coming season's cap hit, but the Blue Jackets, by my count, did a great job with this signing, much like their other signings, as they have a projected cap hit of $43.7 million come July 1st, 2010. That's excellent shape to be in at this point in time. Vermette's future cap hit will be $3.75 million per season over the five years, which could be a pretty good bargain for a two-way centre.
I'm going to wager that a guy like Vermette, who saw all sorts of uncertainty in Ottawa is going to be a very comfortable player with this new deal under wraps. So much so, I think there will be a slight increase in his production with the Jackets, especially since he will be sharing defensive centre duties with Samuel Pahlsson and will probably see some time with some of the team's young scoring assets. Sleeper alert.
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