Vanecek traded to Panthers by Sharks for Giles

Vitek Vanecek was traded to the Florida Panthers by the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday for forward Patrick Giles.

Vanecek is in the final season of a three-year, $10.2 million contract ($3.4 million average annual value) he signed with the New Jersey Devils on July 19, 2022, and is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent after this season. He was traded to the Sharks on March 8, 2024.

Vanecek hasn't played since Saturday when he made 27 saves in a 5-3 loss to the Ottawa Senators. He was held out of the lineup for a 6-2 win at the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday for roster management purposes.

The 29-year-old goalie is 3-10-3 with a 3.88 goals-against average and .882 save percentage in 18 games (17 starts) this season. He will back up Sergei Bobrovsky.

A second-round pick (No. 39) by the Washington Capitals in the 2014 NHL Draft, Vanecek is 94-52-20 with a 2.82 GAA, .903 save percentage and nine shutouts in 181 NHL regular-season games (169 starts) during five NHL seasons with Washington, New Jersey and San Jose.

He is 2-4 with a 4.52 GAA and .834 save percentage 10 Stanley Cup Playoff games (seven starts).

The trade comes four days after Florida dealt goalie Spencer Knight to the Chicago Blackhawks along with a conditional first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft for defenseman Seth Jones and a fourth-round pick in 2026.

After trading Knight, the Panthers recalled Chris Driedger from Charlotte of the American Hockey League. Driedger has only played two games in the NHL since the 2021-22 season; he was 1-1-0 with a 2.51 GAA and a .917 save percentage with the Seattle Kraken last season.

The Panthers (38-21-3) are tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs for first in the Atlantic Division and have won four straight games. They have 20 games remaining this season, including five sets of back-to-back games.

"He's got good numbers," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said of Vanecek on Wednesday. "He's a good player and we have a heavy schedule so it's actually good because we bring in a guy that has NHL experience and we're going to need to play him games to make sure Sergei's numbers are at the right level and we need to win those games so we needed a guy that could come in and stop the puck."

Giles, 25, was undrafted and signed with the Panthers as a free agent on Sept. 20, 2022. He does not have a point in nine career NHL games, all coming this season, and has seven points (five goals, two assists) in 39 AHL games this season.

The Sharks (17-37-9) are last in the NHL standings.