Vemette: Buyout strictly a business decision, agent already fielding calls

Antoine Vermette wants you to know that he was not cut loose by the Arizona Coyotes because he lost his game.

So says the center whose last year of his contract was bought out by the Coyotes on Monday, after hearing straight from management the decision was made to further jump start a youth movement in the desert.

"I talked to (management) and this is a business decision. It has no connection with my performance on the ice. They want to make room for youth and provide more flexibility. It's part of the game," he told RDS on Tuesday.

The Coyotes do have promising young centers in the pipeline set to make the jump to the NHL, but Vermette was still surprised that he was bought out with a year left on his deal.

Vermette added his agent is already fielding calls from interested teams, and that he'll take time to digest his situation before making a decision on where to play in 2016-17.

The 34-year-old recorded 17 goals and 21 assists in 76 games for the Coyotes this past season.