By the looks of it, Antoine Vermette could be a healthy scratch for the Chicago Blackhawks when they open their first-round series versus the Predators tomorrow in Nashville.
From today’s practice:
#Blackhawks lines: 20-19-81, 23-91-88, 29-65-10, 42-16-86. Vermette still not on a line.
— Tracey Myers (@Tramyers_NHL) April 14, 2015
From CSN Chicago:
Vermette has had a tough go in his time with the Blackhawks; he’s been moved around the lineup, from center to wing, and is still looking for his first goal with his new team. So as the Blackhawks prepare for Game 1 against the Nashville Predators on Wednesday, is Vermette on the outside looking in?
“We’ll see,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “We know he’s got some experience there in the middle. Depth is something organizationally you need and some guys are ahead of other guys now based on performance. We’ve got to make decisions.”
An interesting development, to say the least. The ‘Hawks gave up a first-round draft pick and defensive prospect Klas Dahlbeck to get Vermette, a pending unrestricted free agent, from Arizona. That’s a lot to pay for a rental, only to make him a healthy scratch in the first game of the playoffs.
On the other hand, Vermette has no goals and just three assists in 19 games for the ‘Hawks. His possession numbers have also been poor.
“We always say it doesn’t matter how much money you make or who you are: your performance is going to dictate everything you get and everything you’re going to earn,” Quenneville said.