Vitek Vanecek

Vitek Vanecek shuts out defending champion Colorado Avalanche

After two poor outings, Vitek Vanecek is beginning to settle in with his new team. Earlier in the week, the former Capital won his first game for the New Jersey Devils, a 6-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night.

Vanecek followed that up with his best game of the young season, a 1-0 shutout of the defending champion Colorado Avalanche on Friday.

Per the Devils’ Amanda Stein, this was only the Avalanche’s second shutout loss in their last 154 games played.

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By Ian Oland 11 months ago

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We’re pretty sure you’ll bee impressed by Chandler Stephenson’s couple costume for Halloween

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. Not only do I get to do a family-themed costume with my son every year, but I also get a lot of joy seeing what former and current Capitals dress up as.

In the past, we’ve had such classics as TJ Oshie walking on all fours in a dalmatian costume and Tom Wilson as Wilson the volleyball from Castaway.

This year, spooky szn is starting strong via two former Capitals: Vegas Golden Knights forward Chandler Stephenson and New Jersey Devils goaltender Vitek Vanecek.

Both revealed their couple costumes for team Halloween parties and they’re fantastic.

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By Ian Oland 11 months ago

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Do not sleep on the New Jersey Devils

The Washington Capitals haven’t had the best start to the season. Going 3-3-0 – and more importantly how they’ve gone 3-3-0 – has got some statistical models feeling a little iffy about the team.

One particularly bearish model at Moneypuck thinks the Caps have just a 38 percent chance of making the postseason right now. Dom Luszczyszyn’s model at the Athletic has them at 51 percent, which is just an inch above tonight’s opponent, the New Jersey Devils.

So, yeah, we’re getting meaningful hockey in October.

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By Peter Hassett 11 months ago

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Jakub Vrana scores on close friend Vitek Vanecek during goaltender’s Devils debut

The Detroit Red Wings took on the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. The matchup pitted two young and upcoming Eastern Conference teams against each other.

In the game within the game, it also saw Jakub Vrana take on close friend Vitek Vanecek — two close friends who grew up in the Capitals’ organization together and work out together over the summers. Vanecek was making his Devils’ debut after being traded by the Capitals over the offseason.

V scored early in the second period on VV, beating the Czech netminder short side over the shoulder.

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By Ian Oland 12 months ago

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Capitals players say they will ‘miss Sammy and Vitek’ as the two young goaltenders move on with other teams

The National Hockey League can be a harsh business. Playing a kid’s game as an adult can net a king’s ransom, but it also means being treated like a commodity and having to leave your friendships at the door.

Capitals players are experiencing the latter as they transition into a new year. Over the offseason, general manager Brian MacLellan hit the eject button and jettisoned the young goalie battery of Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek after two full seasons together. Samsonov signed with the Leafs after not being tendered a qualifying offer by Mac while Vanecek was dealt to division rival New Jersey. Both players grew up in the Capitals’ developmental system and were a duo with the AHL’s Hershey Bears as well.

The Capitals retooled their netminding by signing the top free agent goaltender on the free-agent market, 2022 Stanley Cup champion Darcy Kuemper, and inking backup Charlie Lindgren to a three-year deal. While there’s excitement on what those two tendies can bring, several Caps players were noticeably tore up about Sammy and Vitek being gone at the start of Training Camp.

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By Ian Oland 1 year ago

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Jakub Vrana and Vitek Vanecek reunite at Czech exhibition game

Former Capitals players Jakub Vrana and Vitek Vanecek grew to be close friends during their time together in Washington. The bond started at the 2014 rookie camp where Vrana helped translate the entirety of Vanecek’s first ever media availability with the team.

The two Czech 2014 Caps draftees spent nearly seven years together, but eventually parted ways when Vrana was dealt to Detroit Red Wings at the 2021 Trade deadline. On Saturday, they reunited in their native Czechia to celebrate HC Letci Letnany’s 20th anniversary.

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By Chris Cerullo 1 year ago

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New Jersey Devils give Vitek Vanecek substantial raise in three-year deal

Former Capitals goaltender Vitek Vanecek is getting a big payday from the New Jersey Devils.

Vanecek, a restricted free agent, inked a three-year deal with the Devils worth $3.4 million per season. The 26-year-old was coming off a three-year deal with Washington where he made $717k a year.

Vanecek posted a 20-12-6 record, posting a 2.67 GAA, .908 save percentage, and four shutouts last season.

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By Ian Oland 1 year ago

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Ilya Samsonov, Vitek Vanecek, and asset management

The Washington Capitals have finally slayed their two-headed goalie monster by metaphorically lopping off both their heads. (Okay, that’s gross, I’ll definitely delete that before I publish this.)

On Monday afternoon the team announced that they had not offered a qualifying offer to Ilya Samsonov. The team may still negotiate with Samsonov over the next two days (if they want), but if not, come Wednesday — poof! — the Russian netminder can sign with any team as an unrestricted free agent. After dealing Vitek Vanecek on the second day of the Draft, the Capitals quickly went from having two goalies in the organization to none.

Because of how it all went down, the team got hardly anything in return, and that’s where I want to focus for a moment, especially if the Caps are unable to sign Samsonov to a more team-friendly deal before noon on Wednesday.

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By Ian Oland 1 year ago

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Vitek Vanecek thanks Capitals fans for support in social media post: ‘One big life chapter has ended’

The Washington Capitals made its first major splash of the offseason on Friday, trading Vitek Vanecek a day before his wedding to the New Jersey Devils for draft picks. The move paves the way for the Capitals to add a veteran goaltender either via trade or free agency.

Vanecek didn’t have time to react to the trade in real-time due to his pending huge event, but he jumped onto social media on Sunday to share his feelings.

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By Ian Oland 1 year ago

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It turns out the Capitals traded Vitek Vanecek the day before his wedding

Vitek Vanecek had two absolutely life-changing events happen in approximately 24 hours.

Yesterday, Vanecek was traded by the Washington Capitals to the New Jersey Devils after spending the first eight years of his career with the DC hockey team (and this time, there will be no take-backsies).

Today, Vanecek got married to his longtime love, Kristýna, in his native Czechia.

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By Ian Oland 1 year ago

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