Vitek Vanecek has been traded back to the Eastern Conference.
The San Jose Sharks dealt the former Washington Capitals goaltender to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Chevy Chase, Maryland native Patrick Giles. Vanecek was held out of San Jose’s game against the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night in anticipation of the move.
Coming to a crease near you 🥅
Welcome to the sunshine state, Vitek!
📝 » https://t.co/UcmOSx2e45 pic.twitter.com/CGoqNJM4Xf
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) March 5, 2025
Vanecek, a 2014 second-round selection by the Capitals, has now been traded four times during his five-year NHL career. He was playing in his first season with the rebuilding Sharks after they had acquired him from the New Jersey Devils in a March 2024 trade that saw goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen head in the other direction.
The 29-year-old netminder is 3-10-3 this season with a 3.88 goals-against average and a .882 save percentage. Per MoneyPuck, he has allowed nine goals more than expected for the Sharks. In one of his first starts for the club this year, he played an entire game with his last name misspelled on the back of his jersey.
Florida needed a new backup for starter Sergei Bobrovsky after they dealt Spencer Knight to the Chicago Blackhawks in a trade for defenseman Seth Jones last Saturday. Bobrovsky has played in 41 of the Panthers’ 62 games this year.
The Sharks did not retain any of Vanecek’s $3.4 million cap hit. The Czech goalie is slated to be an unrestricted free agent in the summer. Florida also has plenty of cap space after recently placing star forward Matthew Tkachuk on long-term injured reserve.
🚨Trade
To #TimetoHunt
Vitek Vanecek
29 y/o G, Year 3/3 $3.4M Cap HitTo #SJSharks
Patrick Giles
25 y/o F, Year 1/2 $775Khttps://t.co/YuAiHoGKJG— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) March 5, 2025
Giles played four seasons of college hockey with the Boston College Eagles before signing a three-year, entry-level contract with the Panthers in 2022. He made his NHL debut this season and got into nine games for Florida. He has recorded seven points (5g, 2a) in 39 AHL games for the Charlotte Checkers this year.
Per QuantHockey, Giles is only the fifth player born in Maryland to play in an NHL game. He is third on that list in games played (9), behind only Jeff Halpern (976) and Jeff Brubaker (178).
The 25-year-old forward attended Landon School in Bethesda, Maryland for two years before joining the US National Development Team Program. Giles attended the Capitals’ 2018 Development Camp before heading to Boston College.
