Coyotes pleased with Vermette addition

A bit was made, at the start of this series, about the fact that these two teams were very familiar with each other, given that the Kings and Phoenix Coyotes met six times in the regular season. That’s not quite the accurate story though. The teams didn’t play after late February, after the Kings acquired Jeff Carter and after the Coyotes made a lower-profile trade, but one that has helped them a lot. The Coyotes, on Feb. 22, acquired Vermette from Columbus for goalie Curtis McElhinney, a second-round draft pick and a conditional pick. Vermette had only three goals and seven assists in 22 regular-season games as he adjusted to his new team, but in the playoffs, Vermette has five goals and five assists in 15 games. Coach Dave Tippett said he’s not surprised at the contributions of his new second-line center.

TIPPETT: “Don (Maloney, general manager) did a lot of homework on him, not just watch a lot of video of him playing, but a lot of homework on his personality. We always talk about we need players that are going to fit well into our group. Everything Don heard about Antoine was very good, very good teammate. Sometimes you get players that are outcasts in the dressing room. That wasn’t the case. He was at the forefront of leadership, things he was trying to do. Good experience with the playoffs with Ottawa. We felt it was a player that fit well into our group, personality and play-wise.’’

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