On Thursday, veteran Antoine Vermette announced his retirement from the NHL. The 36-year-old from Quebec won the Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in 2015 and most recently played for the Ducks; however he didn’t sign with a team after becoming a free agent last summer.
Vermette had expressed interest last spring in playing again, but explained that he didn’t want to go overseas and instead hoped to land a job closer to his family. There were reports that the center had interest from several teams but once training camp came and went without a contract, Vermette officially decided to retire.
Vermette will finish his career with 1,046 career regular season NHL games. He posted his first 20-goal season in 2005-06, a threshold he would cross three more times in his career. His career-high of 65 points in a single season is impressive, but Vermette will be remembered most for the incredible two-way center he became in the second half of his career. He finishes his career with the 14th most faceoff wins in NHL (recorded) history and a career 56.6% win percentage in the circle. Vermette will finish a 14-year career with 515 points.
