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Photo of Vitek Vanecek

Vitek Vanecek

#41 · Goalie · New York Islanders

Born Jan 9, 1996 in Havlickuv Brod, CZE (age 30) · 6'2", 188 lb · Catches left · Drafted 39th overall in 2014 by WSH (round 2)

Trophy case

Stanley Cup NHL Champion 2024-25

Compare with a similar player

The goalies closest to him in games played in 2023-24. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Arvid Soderblom CHI · 32 GP, 0.880 Scott Wedgewood DAL · 32 GP, 0.899 Darcy Kuemper WSH · 33 GP, 0.890 Jake Allen NJD · 34 GP, 0.895 Anton Forsberg OTT · 30 GP, 0.890

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

020402020-21: 37 games3720-212021-22: 42 games4221-222022-23: 52 games5222-232023-24: 32 games3223-242024-25: 25 games2524-252025-26: 22 games2225-26

Games played by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save % Cap hit
2020-21 WSH 37 211042 1031 936 95 2.69 0.908 $717K
2021-22 WSH 42 201264 1117 1014 103 2.67 0.908 $717K
2022-23 NJD 52 331143 1333 1214 119 2.45 0.911 $3.4M
2023-24 NJD 32 17930 862 767 95 3.18 0.890 $3.4M
2024-25 SJS 18 31030 533 470 63 3.88 0.882 $3.4M
2024-25 FLA 7 2411 191 170 21 3.00 0.890
2025-26 UTA 22 51331 506 447 59 2.93 0.883 $1.5M
6 seasons Career 210 101692411 5573 5018 555 2.84 0.900

Playoffs

Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.

Season Team GP WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save %
2020-21 WSH 1 0000 4 3 1 4.56 0.750
2021-22 WSH 2 1100 51 44 7 4.21 0.863
2022-23 NJD 7 1300 120 99 21 4.64 0.825
3 seasons Playoffs 10 2400 175 146 29 4.52 0.834

2023-24 season totals

GP Starts WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save %
32 29 17930 862 767 95 3.18 0.890

Contract

$3.4MCap hitends in 2025, then UFA
$120KWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$3.3MValueworth minus cap hit; below zero is overpaid

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. He rated at or below a spare-part player, so there is no cost per goal to show. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 65 ranked goalies whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the New Jersey Devils on Jul 19, 2022, as a new contract: 3 years and $10.2M, beginning in 2022-23. It runs through 2024-25, with 1 season left after this one, and he is then an unrestricted free agent.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2022-23 $3.4M $2.55M $1M $3.55M
2023-24 $3.4M $3.75M $0 $3.75M
2024-25 $3.4M $2.9M $0 $2.9M

Each season of the contract, with this one marked. The cap hit is the same every year; what he is paid is not. The pay is as written when the contract was recorded in October 2024, so a later change, such as the rise in the lowest salary for 2026-27, is not shown.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
Jul 1, 2026 New York Islanders New contract 2026-27 to 2026-27 1 $1M $1M
Jul 1, 2025 Utah Mammoth New contract 2025-26 to 2025-26 1 $1.5M $1.5M
Jul 19, 2022 New Jersey Devils New contract 2022-23 to 2024-25 3 $10.2M $3.4M
Jul 1, 2019 Washington Capitals New contract 2019-20 to 2021-22 3 $2.15M $717K
Jul 15, 2014 Washington Capitals Entry-level 2016-17 to 2018-19 signed for 2014-15, slid 3 $2.775M $714K

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2023-24 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2023-24 analytics

Rating

-3.5Goals above replacement59th of 65 goalies
-0.6Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-12.0Goals above averagehis goals saved above expected

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 65 ranked goalies: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile. Goals above average is coloured as it is under Shots faced below, where it is taken per 60 minutes.

The goals he saved for his team, compared with a spare-part goalie facing the same shots. A goalie's season is about one-third the goalie and two-thirds chance, so read one year lightly. Provisional: under 40 games it is more chance than player.

-1001020302020-212021-222022-232023-242024-252025-26Goals above replacementGoals above replacement, by season

Shots faced

Expected goals adds up how likely each shot he faced was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. A goalie who lets in fewer than that has saved goals above expected. Only shots taken while he was in net count, and the league's goalies as a whole come out at zero. What these numbers mean

-12.0Goals saved above expectedexpected goals minus goals against
83.0Expected goals againstfrom 1,211 unblocked attempts
95Goals againstwhile he was in net
0.890Save %0.904 expected from his shots

Goals saved above expected, taken per 60 minutes, and save % are coloured by where they rank among the 70 goalies who played enough to be ranked: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile. The two goals against tiles are left plain, since they follow how much he played.

Goals saved -0.40 above expected per 60 minutes9th
Shot difficulty 6.9% chance per attempt faced63rdA higher bar means his team gives up more dangerous shots.

Each bar shows the share of goalies he is ahead of, among the 70 who played at least a quarter as much as the busiest this season.

020406080Game 10Game 20Game 30Allowed 95Expected 83.0

The goals he was expected to let in and the goals he did, as the season went on. When the allowed line runs below the expected line, he is saving more than his shots were worth.

Where he was shot at

Every unblocked attempt he faced this season, with his net on the right. Darker red means more attempts from that spot, and each dot is a goal. "Show every shot" switches to a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result Decision Shots against Saves Goals against Save % TOI
Feb 10, 2024 @ CAR L 0-1 (OT) OTL 32 31 1 0.969 63:40
Feb 8, 2024 vs CGY L 3-5 L 29 25 4 0.862 58:06
Feb 6, 2024 vs COL W 5-3 W 38 35 3 0.921 60:00
Jan 27, 2024 @ TBL L 3-6 L 40 36 4 0.900 58:17
Jan 25, 2024 @ CAR L 2-3 11 11 0 1.000 34:17
Jan 22, 2024 vs VGK W 6-5 (OT) W 32 27 5 0.844 62:35
Jan 19, 2024 @ CBJ W 4-1 W 30 29 1 0.967 59:45
Jan 11, 2024 @ TBL L 3-4 (OT) OTL 20 16 4 0.800 61:52
Jan 5, 2024 vs CHI W 4-2 W 25 23 2 0.920 59:51
Dec 30, 2023 @ BOS L 2-5 L 31 26 5 0.839 60:00
Dec 27, 2023 vs CBJ W 4-3 (OT) W 29 26 3 0.897 61:46
Dec 23, 2023 vs DET W 3-2 W 24 22 2 0.917 60:00
Dec 21, 2023 vs EDM L 3-6 L 32 28 4 0.875 54:36
Dec 19, 2023 vs PHI L 2-3 (OT) OTL 26 23 3 0.885 63:25
Dec 13, 2023 vs BOS W 2-1 (OT) W 24 23 1 0.958 62:47
Dec 9, 2023 @ CGY W 4-2 W 25 23 2 0.920 59:52
Dec 5, 2023 @ VAN W 6-5 W 33 28 5 0.848 59:37
Nov 28, 2023 vs NYI W 5-4 18 14 4 0.778 33:05
Nov 25, 2023 vs BUF W 7-2 W 12 10 2 0.833 59:24
Nov 22, 2023 @ DET L 0-4 L 28 24 4 0.857 59:31
Nov 18, 2023 vs NYR L 3-5 L 34 30 4 0.882 57:36
Nov 16, 2023 @ PIT W 5-2 W 23 21 2 0.913 59:57
Nov 10, 2023 vs WSH L 2-4 5 3 2 0.600 10:37
Nov 7, 2023 @ COL L 3-6 L 31 26 5 0.839 58:28
Nov 5, 2023 @ CHI W 4-2 W 34 32 2 0.941 59:55
Nov 2, 2023 @ MIN W 5-3 W 25 22 3 0.880 60:00
Oct 29, 2023 vs MIN W 4-3 W 34 31 3 0.912 60:00
Oct 27, 2023 vs BUF W 5-4 W 27 23 4 0.852 60:00
Oct 25, 2023 vs WSH L 4-6 L 16 14 2 0.875 37:13
Oct 24, 2023 @ MTL W 5-2 W 29 27 2 0.931 59:39
Oct 16, 2023 vs FLA L 3-4 L 30 26 4 0.867 56:00
Oct 12, 2023 vs DET W 4-3 W 35 32 3 0.914 59:58