Fantasy Impact: The Anaheim Ducks have signed forward Antoine Vermette to a two-year contract worth $1.75 per season.

The Ducks get: a versatile forward who can play at position up front and is capable on either a checking line or a scoring line. Vermette is almost exclusively used as a centerman though because his faceoff acument is among the best in the league. In the last six seasons, his worst faceoff win percentage was 55.3% and in 2013-14 he won 1005 faceoffs for an impressive 56.3% rate.

Fantasy Players Impacted: Vermette has mostly been a third-line type over the past couple of years. The now-34-year-old will center the third line after Ryan Getzlaf and Ryan Kesler and by my count, Nick Ritchie should be his winger. On a team with five good scoring wingers (let's pretend Mason Raymond doesn't exist, shall we? Minor leaguer now), Ritchie was destined for a third line that featured Chris Wagner. Now, with Vermette, there is more hope for some better numbers. Not that Vermette will go out and get 60 points and drag his linemate up to 55, but he should be good for 40 and his linemates could certainly get the same.

Before this signing, there was also the slight possibility that Rickard Rakell would get moved off the Getzlaf line and anchor the third line as the centerman there. Vermette's arrival will ensure that Rakell at least starts the season on that top line and if there's chemistry (again) then he'll stick there. A very subtle change that nobody will point to in March, but in fact it would make a world of difference to Rakell's end numbers. Imagine if they had no third-line center worth his salt and by October 25th Coach Randy Carlyle was forced to put Rakell back there? It would be devastating to Rakell's fantasy owners. But now Carlyle won't have to do that.

The Ducks now have a proven and experienced third-line center and that means that they won't be needing a prospect. This was going to happen anyway, but now that it's official it's just worth noting. In the extremely unlikely event that Anaheim did not sign a veteran, then the prospect I liked for that spot was Kalle Kossila, a smallish but very talented prospect who wasn't drafted but had signed as a free agent in March after graduating from St. Cloud State.

Let's take a look at the line combinations according to my Fantasy Guide (which I've already updated with this signing/new Vermette projections/Anaheim line combos – try finding that somewhere else!)

Rakell – Getzlaf – Perry

Cogliano – Kesler – Silfverberg

Ritchie – Vermette – Garbutt (?)

Fantasy Players this helps, in order:

1. Rakell (see his stats, line combos and game logs here)

2. Ritchie (check out our scouting report on him here)

3. Vermette (see his stats, line combos and game logs here)

Fantasy Players this hurts, in order:

1. Kossila (check out our scouting report on him here)

2. Wagner (see his stats, line combos and game logs here)

3. Michael Sgarbossa (check out our scouting report on him here)