Ducks Snap Up Vermette

Of course, the day that you release your pool projections to the world, you immediately have to start the revision process!  The Anaheim Ducks added some depth down the middle, something that actually goes a long ways to their shortcomings that I was mentioning in my post, signing Antoine Vermette to a 2-year deal, reportedly worth $3.5 million.

The 34-year old was just recently bought out by the Coyotes, as Arizona has moved towards playing more of their youth or one would only assume.  Vermette was still productive in the 2016 season, finishing with 17 goals and 38 points in 76 games, which kept him in the pool worthy ranks, sitting 148th among all forwards.

This is a guy that the Ducks could really use and it could really make a bit of a difference in the Pacific Division, which was getting more difficult for everyone playing in the division.  Adding this depth down the middle, just behind Ryan Getzlaf and Ryan Kesler and he should make the 3rd line a little more credible through the year.

With the addition of Vermette and his projected 40 points, I believe this makes the Ducks just a little bit better and that added 5 points to the team's number one goalie, John Gibson, lifting his number into the 1st round at 75 points.

Player	Pos	16/17 Proj	Rookie
John Gibson	G	75	N
Ryan Getzlaf	F	70	N
Corey Perry	F	70	N
Ryan Kesler	F	55	N
Jakob Silfverberg	F	45	N
Rickard Rakell	F	40	N
Antoine Vermette	F	40	N
Sami Vatanen	D	40	N
Nick Ritchie	F	30	N
Andrew Cogliano	F	30	N
Hampus Lindholm	D	30	N
Jonathan Bernier	G	25	N
Cam Fowler	D	25	N
Kevin Bieksa	D	25	N
Simon Despres	D	15	N
Mason Raymond	F	10	N
Clayton Stoner	D	10	N
Ryan Garbutt	F	5	N
Chris Wagner	F	5	N
Nate Thompson	F	5	N
Jared Boll	F	5	N
Shea Theodore	D	5	Y
Korbinian Holzer	D	5	N
Nate Guenin	D	5	N
Jeff Schultz	D	5	N

With some shifts in their overall roster, the are still well-below the salary cap ceiling with their figures, even with Nate Thompson projected to start the year on the Injured Reserve.  The 24-man roster is projected to come in $4.9 million below the ceiling, still leaving plenty of room for any work down the road.