The Utah Mammoth have their goalie: Stanley Cup champion Vitek Vanecek. The two sides have agreed on a one-year deal worth $1.5 million.
Vanecek, 29, may have been the biggest trade deadline beneficiary last season. He went from the league-worst San Jose Sharks to the eventual Cup-winning Florida Panthers. He only played seven games in the new uniform, and none in the playoffs, but his presence as a backup goalie throughout the playoff run was good enough to put his name on the trophy.
“He’s had some monstrous years in the NHL,” said general manager Bill Armstrong of his new goalie. “Corey Schwab (Utah’s goaltending coach) has always done a great job at bringing goaltenders’ games back to life. With (Vanecek), I think there’s more in there. I think there’s some ability to push and really win some games for us — and key games."
Vanecek is entering his sixth NHL season, having played previously for the Washington Capitals and the New Jersey Devils, in addition to the aforementioned Sharks and Panthers. He has a career save percentage of .902 and a goals-against average of 2.83.
The Mammoth now have three goaltenders signed to one-way contracts. The Vanecek signing could indicate that Connor Ingram will not be ready to go for the start of the year, though Armstrong has not directly stated that that’s the case. If Ingram is ready at some point, there’s always a market for goalies and it shouldn’t be hard to move someone.
Both Vanecek and projected starting goaltender Karel Vejmelka hail from Czechia (as does Utah’s top goalie prospect, Michael Hrabal). Their hometowns are about an hour apart, according to Google Maps.
Other Utah Mammoth news
Additional Tuesday transactions regarding the Mammoth include:
- Nate Schmidt signed (three-year deal)
- Brandon Tanev signed (three-year deal).
- Scott Perunovich signed (one-year, two-way, league-minimum deal).
- Kailer Yamamoto re-signed (one-year, two-way, league-minimum deal).
- Nick Bjugstad left to the St. Louis Blues via free agency.