Devils sign goaltender Vitek Vanecek to three-year contract

The New Jersey Devils have signed goaltender Vitek Vanecek to a three-year contract, the team announced on Tuesday.

Vanecek was acquired from the Washington Capitals at the 2022 NHL Draft in exchange for a second- and a third-round pick.

Vanecek was drafted by the Capitals in the second round of the 2014 NHL Draft. He made his NHL debut with the Capitals in 2021 and posted a .908 save percentage over the course of 37 games. Vanecek followed that up with a .908 save percentage in 42 games during the 2021-22 season.

The Capitals moved on from their goaltending tandem this summer, trading Vanecek to New Jersey and opting not to give Ilya Samsonov a qualifying offer. They signed Darcy Kuemper, who won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche, to a five-year deal.

The Devils are hoping that Vanecek can provide the team with some much-needed stable goaltending next season. New Jersey ranked 31st in the NHL with a .881 team save percentage last season and they used seven different goaltenders in the process.

The expectation is that Vanecek will form a tandem with Mackenzie Blackwood in the NHL while Nico Daws and Akira Schmid play in the AHL. Jonathan Bernier, who played in only eight games last season due to a hip injury, might not be ready for the start of the 2022-23 season.