In a seemingly surprising move on Monday, the Arizona Coyotes announced they were buying out the contract of Antoine Vermette.

The 34-year-old is coming off a season that saw him finish just three goals shy of the 20-goal mark and with a respectable 38 points in 76 games. Additionally, he remains one of the games better faceoff men, finishing last year with the 17th-best success rate at 55.8 percent.

His best years are clearly behind him, but Vermette can still be a solid depth option at center, providing offense and a critical faceoff win in dire situations.

Here are three teams that should consider taking a run at Vermette:

Calgary Flames

Heading into next season the Calgary Flames could use a boost at the center position.

Behind the likes of Sean Monahan and Mikael Backlund, the club boasts the likes of Hunter Shinkaruk and Matt Stajan down the middle of the ice. Vermette would be an instant upgrade offensively over the latter two who combined for eight goals last season (noting Shinkaruk spent the majority of the year in the AHL).

The Flames could also use some help at the faceoff dot after finishing 27th in the league with a 48.6 percent success rate.

On top of his on-ice contributions, Vermette's off-ice accolades could be just as valuable to the Flames, who ice a young forward contingent with just two players over the age of 30.

Vermette could provide leadership to the young squad and teach the youngsters what it takes to capture a cup after doing so as a late acquisition by the 2015 Stanley Cup champs Chicago Blackhawks.

Buffalo Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres have some promising prospects coming up their pipeline but for one problem, few of them play center.

Sam Reinhart and Evander Kane both have experience playing center, but both have spent the majority of their time on the wing. That leaves Ryan O'Reilly and Jack Eichel with the first two spots locked down, but the bottom two center positions up for grabs.

Zemgus Girgensons and Johan Larsson occupy those spots, but both fail to put up the offense that Vermette has and like so many others, fail to share the elder's faceoff proficiency.

The Sabres, much like the Flames, are a fairly young squad - with the fourth-youngest roster, according to nhlnumbers.com - and could use another veteran voice in the dressing room.

Vancouver Canucks

If ever there was a team that needed help on faceoffs it would be the Vancouver Canucks.

The team finished with a league-worst 45.4 percent success-rate last season, with Bo Horvat as the only member of the team who played more than 40 games with a win percentage higher than 50 percent (50.9).

Right away it is clear that for Vermette to get a spot with the team, the club would likely have to make room. The most likely way to do so would be to plug Vermette in for Markus Granlund - who managed just six goals and 10 points split between the Canucks and the Flames.

After Brandon Sutter missed all but 20 games last season, having Vermette available could prove invaluable should another injury occur.

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If Sam Gagner can back up his words, the Columbus Blue Jackets could get tremendous value out of their one-year investment.

The 26-year-old, who signed a one-year, $650,000 contract with the club Monday, is motivated not only to have a bounce back season personally, but also to help the Blue Jackets rebound from a disappointing 2015-16.

"From a personal standpoint, I’m as hungry as I’ve ever been," Gagner told Rob Mixer of BlueJackets.com. "I’m motivated to have success, and coming to Columbus where everyone feels like last year was an underachieving year, I think it’s going to bode well. We’re a determined group and we’re looking forward to proving a lot of people wrong. It’s an exciting challenge for all of us."

Gagner cited an opportunity to get prime offensive minutes an a major factor in his decision to sign with Columbus, and he seems convinced the Blue Jackets can be a playoff contender after a 27th-place finish this past season.

"The biggest thing is that I think it’s a really good fit for me, and I think Columbus is a lot better team than the record showed last year," he said. "There are a lot of really good, up-and-coming players along with a lot of established players, and I was convinced there’s an opportunity for me to play. Not only that, but there’s an opportunity to win - they have a lot of good pieces."

Gagner's 16 points in 53 games with the Philadelphia Flyers marked the lowest single-season output of his career, but through eight seasons, he's averaging 47 points for every 82 games played.

That kind of production would indeed go a long way towards helping build some buzz for the Blue Jackets.

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Peter Chiarelli has boosted his staff with a familiar face.

The Edmonton Oilers have hired Keith Gretzky as the club's new assistant general manager.

Gretzky has been working as the director of amateur scouting for the Boston Bruins since 2013, for whom Chiarelli served as GM prior to being hired in the same capacity by the Oilers in 2015.

Before working with the Bruins, Gretzky was a scout in the Arizona Coyotes organization from 2001-06, and then served as that team's director of amateur scouting until 2011.

Bill Scott, who previously held the position, will transition into a new role as the director of salary cap management and assistant to the president of hockey operations.

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In case you weren't aware, P.K. Subban isn't afraid to speak his mind.

The now-Nashville Predators defenseman took the stage for the P.K. Subban Comedy Gala as part of Just for Laughs in Montreal on Monday and was not afraid to take a couple of shots at his former team.

His set started off in fairly tame fashion, with a joke that he can likely relate to, following his neck injury that concluded his season in March.

However - even after claiming earlier in the day that the Montreal Canadiens would not be the butt of any jokes - he opened up about the club, doing just that.

Of course, as many of the Canadiens faithful made known following the trade, they most certainly still have his back.

The shots at his former team were of course all in good fun as the event raised $130,000 for the Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation.

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Andreas Athanasiou certainly doesn't lack confidence.

The Detroit Red Wings forward is already eyeing the 2016-17 season, one that he feels will begin with him in the Red Wings' starting lineup.

"I'm not worried about that," Athanasiou said, according to Brendan Savage of MLive.com. "I'm confident in my abilities.

"I do what I can out there and like I said, it's their decision and I'm doing to do the best I can to make it as easy as possible. Just take it day to day. Come September I'm going to be ready to play."

After beginning the season with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League last season - where he put up eight goals and 16 points in 26 games - and a short six-game stint with the Red Wings in November, the 21-year-old joined the team full-time in February.

He managed 13 points in 31 games during his final stretch, leading the Red Wings with 1.62 goals per 60 minutes, while averaging just over nine minutes of ice-time per game.

"It's such a tough situation, obviously, with the team we had," said Athanasiou. "There's reliable players that the coach has and obviously when you step in halfway through the season and produce, it kind of puts them in a situation where they have to juggle lines and stuff.

"We did a pretty good job with it. Unfortunately, I got the minutes I got. I'm not complaining. I'm OK with that. Obviously I want it to be more but that's just my foot in the door there, so now I've got to kind to come in."

Whatever decision comes from head coach Jeff Blashill regarding the opening-day roster, Athanasiou remains confident he'll be there.

"I think my confidence just comes from what I've been through, everything I've gone (through) growing up and getting to the National Hockey League. That's where you build you confidence and just getting a chance to play here is a big thing.

"I know my game. I know what I'm capable of. So I'm just going to work on my strengths, work on my weaknesses and come September I'll be ready."

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Dylan Strome is ready to play with the big boys.

Last year's third overall pick is coming off his third season of junior, playing for the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League - in his eyes that should be enough to earn him an NHL job.

"For myself personally I obviously feel like I'm done with junior and I don't want to be there next year," Strome said, according to The Canadian Press.

"But at the same time, I obviously want to play in the NHL for a long time in my career and if Arizona thinks that's best for me next year then I don't really have a choice, that's obviously what I'm going to do."

Strome was one of the Arizona Coyotes' final cuts heading into last season. In fact, he feels that he could have managed quite well with the NHL club this past campaign.

"t's not really up to me," Strome said. "I obviously felt like I could've been done (with junior hockey) last year. I made it to the last day of (NHL) camp and last cuts.

"Hopefully this year I can just try to make it a little farther and show what I can do in the exhibition games again. I think (the Coyotes) were pretty impressed with me last year and hopefully they like what they see again and I can get some games in this year."

After pacing the CHL in scoring during his draft year with 129 points in 68 games, Strome managed another 111 points in 56 games this season, besting his prior points per game total. Strome is just hopeful those numbers are good enough to land him a roster spot come opening night.

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That can't be legal.

Ak Bars Kazan (KHL) forward Vladimir Tykachyov took an interesting approach to the team's shootout contest, launching his stick like a javelin past the goaltender.

Does that count as a high stick?

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P.K. Subban is back in Montreal.

No, it's not hockey related, but it's still no shock the former Hab was asked about the trade that sent him to the Nashville Predators.

In the city Monday ahead of hosting a gala with "Just for Laughs", Subban revealed to TSN that the swirling rumors tying his name to the trade served as preparation for the actual deal itself.

"I think I accepted it probably way before it even happened," Subban said. "In my case the rumors kept escalating and escalating. Montreal's not a place where rumors stay in house, they seem to kind of fly all over the place."

While the speculation brought the potential move to his attention, being shipped from Montreal was never completely on Subban's radar.

"When you're hearing your name in trade rumors for a long period of time, as a Montreal Canadien every day I tried to go out and be the hardest worker on the ice and give it everything that I had," Subban said. "Accepting that you're going to be traded, for me, I didn't expect it because I didn't see a reason for me to leave."

Subban vowed he'll remain close to his ties within the city of Montreal, but said his focus has shifted to developing his prime playing years in Nashville, where he'll get started Sept. 22 when Predators' camp opens.

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