Phoenix Coyotes Preseason Countdown: Antoine Vermette Edition

Whether by trade or by lockout, Phoenix Coyotes forward Antoine Vermette has yet to play a full 82-game season with the team. However, in the short time Vermette has played for the Yotes, he's provided 31 points for the team.

With 31 days remaining until the Coyotes open the preseason, we focus on Vermette's 31 points and the trade that brought him to the Desert.

February 22, 2012, just days before the NHL trade deadline, a deal occurred. Vermette was traded to the Coyotes in exchange for Curtis McElhinney, a second round pick in 2012 and a conditional draft pick in 2013, which became a fourth round pick. (Note the second round pick traded was the Senators' pick which was part of the transaction that sent Kyle Turris to Ottawa in exchange for David Rundblad).

Since the trade, Vermette has amassed 31 points including 16 goals in the 70 games he has played for the Desert Dogs. The 31-year-old was a key part of the Coyotes' run to the Western Conference Final in 2012 in no small part due to his penchant for winning face-offs. He has won a whopping 57.4 percent of them during his time in the Valley.

With the addition of Mike Ribeiro, Vermette will likely center the third line this season after playing in the top-six for parts of the last two seasons. The Quebec native should see an uptick in penalty kill time to help compensate for the loss of the previous third line center, Boyd Gordon.

Vermette has two years left (both with a $3.75M cap hit) on the five-year, $18.75M contact he signed with Columbus in 2010. He will enter the 2013-2014 season with 157 career goals and 350 career points.