The Arizona Coyotes brought back ice hockey forward Antoine Vermette Wednesday after trading him February to the Chicago Blackhawks, who won their third Stanley Cup in six years last season.
According to ESPN, the Coyotes traded Vermette, 32, to the Blackhawks because of his impending free agency status.
But now they re-signed him to a two-year deal worth $7.5 million with an annual value of $3.75 million, according to reports.
Vermette's playing time was reduced when he joined the Blackhawks. He saw only 14:04 minutes of ice time per game compared with his Coyotes average of 18:59, ESPN reported.
Vermette was unable to score a goal in 19 regular season games for the Blackhawks but had three assists. But he stepped up in the postseason, scoring four goals and having three assists in 20 playoff games.
Two of those goals included game-winners in the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning and a crucial goal earlier in the postseason during the conference final against the Anaheim Ducks, with his goal in double-overtime tying the series at 2-2.
Last season, Vermette played a total of 82 games, split between the Coyotes and Blackhawks, where he scored 13 goals and had eight assists (25 points).
"I'm going to sleep a lot better tonight knowing that Antoine is back in the fold, and with the other moves we made, we've jumped ahead leaps and bounds where we were two days ago," Coyotes general manager Don Maloney said on the team website.
Maloney added: "We've always like Antoine. He's one of us. He fits with us, he's a good person. It's never a bad thing to add Stanley Cup winners into your locker room, especially with some of the young players, so this is really a great way to end the day."
Along with the Coyotes and the Blackhawks, Vermette has played for the Ottawa Senators and the Columbus Blue Jackets in his 11-year NHL career.
