Coyotes place Vermette on unconditional waivers for buyout purposes

The Arizona Coyotes have placed forward Antoine Vermette on unconditional waivers, meaning the final year of his contract will be bought out, the team announced.

The move comes off as unexpected, as Vermette, 34, has one season left on his current deal, carrying an affordable cap hit of $3.75 million, but Arizona general manager pulled trigger for some of the Coyotes' younger talent to make the roster.

"In order to give our team more flexibility, we needed to make this difficult decision," Chayka said. "This move will provide an opportunity for some of our young, talented players to step up. Antoine is a class act and we thank him for all he did on and off the ice for the Arizona Coyotes organization. We wish him the best in the future."

His buyout will cost the Coyotes $1.25 million each of the next two seasons, according to Cap Friendly.

According to General Fanager, the Coyotes have over $6.3 million in cap space, with Tobias Rieder - a restricted free agent - being the only player without a contract.

After leaving Arizona to join the Chicago Blackhawks on their Stanley Cup run in 2015, Vermette returned to the Coyotes on a two-year deal last offseason. In 76 games, he scored 17 goals with 21 assists, and will surely gain attention on the waiver wire as an offensively capable pivot, who's strong in the faceoff circle.