CHICAGO -- Antoine Vermette thought being immersed in trade rumors was weird enough, but then he discovered things can get slightly stranger.

Vermette learned he was traded from the Arizona Coyotes to the Chicago Blackhawks just moments before the Coyotes’ team plane departed Boston on Saturday night. He spent the flight saying good-bye to his former team.

“Literally I was sitting on the plane, and we were moving to take off when I got the confirmation that I was traded,” Vermette said on a conference call on Sunday. “It was close enough that actually I was talking to Don Maloney, the GM of Phoenix. I said I hate to do this Donny, but we’re actually literally taking off right now. So, we cut the conversation a little shorter, and that’s how it happened. Being on the plane gave me the opportunity to spend some time with the people and thank them in the proper way I thought usually in this game you rarely have a chance to do.

"It was a very strange situation [waiting to be traded] as you would guess obviously. It’s something I look forward now to kind of a new chapter in my career coming up and having a chance to go with an exciting team with the Chicago Blackhawks. I won’t lie, it’s quite a strange situation."

Vermette expressed a gratitude for his time with the Coyotes, but he also was excited to join the Blackhawks and get involved again in a playoff race. He hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2012. He had four goals against the Blackhawks in the first round that season.

“This is a good opportunity,” said the 32-year-old Vermette, who has 13 goals and 22 assists in 63 games this season. “I’ve been in that situation before and it truly brings an excitement to your game and obviously you look forward as a player playing some meaningful games and play that competitiveness of the game again to another level. Truly, it’s an exciting moment.

“You know I’m going to face some good hockey coming up and get excited about looking at the standings again and looking what’s going on. I’m not going to lie, the standings part where I was, I wasn’t looking too much at lately.”

For the Blackhawks, Vermette helps fill the void of Patrick Kane, who is expected to miss 12 weeks with a fractured clavicle, and gives them another quality centerman who can play a variety of roles. Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said he planned to put Vermette into the lineup as the second-line center.

“It’s where you want to be strong at, especially with the way we play with the responsibility of our centerman down at our own end,” Quenneville said of his centers. “I think he’s very effective in that way. Defensively, he’s got a good awareness to his game, plays hard. He’s going to give us some energy.”

Vermette also believe he could fit in well with the Blackhawks. He is expected to join the team on Monday.

“Having a chance to play against them and now I certainly feel comfortable being on the same side of them for sure,” Vermette said. “I like the fast type of game they play. We’ll go more in specifics with the coaching staff I’m assuming [Monday] about that. It’s certainly something I’m excited to play and it should suit me well.”

Newly-acquired defenseman Kimmo Timonen practiced with the Blackhawks for the first time on Sunday. He is expected to play his first game the season on Monday. He has been out all season due to blood clots.

Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews believes Timonen and Vermette could help the team.

“We both know a lot about those two guys and what they brought to their teams in the past,” Toews said. “Timmo, I think he’s such as smart player and a talented player. He brings a lot of experience on top of that, and Antoine as well. He’s a great two-way centerman. He’s someone who’s going to bring a lot not only as an individual, but I think make the players he plays with -- regardless of who he plays with on this team -- makes those two guys a lot better. We’re excited to have two guys like that.”