The Florida Panthers have acquired goaltender Vitek Vanecek from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for forward Patrick Giles.
Vanecek, 29, will most likely become the primary backup to Sergei Bobrovsky after the Panthers traded Spencer Knight to the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday in the deal to acquire defenseman Seth Jones.
Vanecek has a 3.88 goals against average and .882 save percentage in 18 games for the 17-37-9 Sharks this season.
Giles, 25, made his NHL debut with the Panthers this season and has yet to register a point through nine games. He has five goals and two assists in 39 American Hockey League games with the Charlotte Checkers in 2024-25. Giles, 25, is in his fourth full season as a professional.
The Florida Panthers make a deal to acquire Vitek Vanecek! ???? #TradeCentre | @GolfTown pic.twitter.com/c84hicJlAf
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) March 5, 2025
Vanecek was held out of the Sharks’ game on Tuesday (March 4) in Buffalo as a precaution against injury. He was in line to be in net against the Sabres after Alexandar Georgiev started Monday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Vanecek has a $3.4 million cap hit this season, but the Panthers have plenty of cap room with star forward Matthew Tkachuk on Long Term Injured Reserve. He is in the final year of a three-year, $10.2 million contract.
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