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Photo of Karel Vejmelka

Karel Vejmelka

#70 · Goalie · Utah Mammoth

Born May 25, 1996 in Trebic, CZE (age 30) · 6'4", 221 lb · Catches right · Drafted 145th overall in 2015 by NSH (round 5)

Compare with a similar player

The goalies closest to him in games played in 2026-27. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Igor Shesterkin NYR · 4 GP, 0.926 Jeremy Swayman BOS · 4 GP, 0.932 Jesper Wallstedt MIN · 4 GP, 0.927 Juuse Saros NSH · 4 GP, 0.916 Kevin Lankinen VAN · 4 GP, 0.796

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.

02040602021-22: 52 games5221-222022-23: 50 games5022-232023-24: 38 games3823-242024-25: 58 games5824-252025-26: 64 games6425-262026-27: 4 games426-27

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
2021-22 ARI 52 133231 1669 1499 170 3.68 0.898 $843K
2022-23 ARI 50 182463 1670 1503 168 3.43 0.900 $2.725M
2023-24 ARI 38 131921 1089 977 114 3.35 0.897 $2.725M
2024-25 UTA 58 262281 1509 1364 145 2.58 0.904 $2.725M
2025-26 UTA 64 382032 1626 1458 169 2.75 0.897 $4.75M
2026-27 UTA 4 2101 83 74 9 2.43 0.892 $4.75M
6 seasons Career 266 110118229 7646 6875 775 3.09 0.899

Playoffs

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

Season Team GP WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save %
2025-26 UTA 6 2400 182 161 21 3.13 0.885
1 season Playoffs 6 2400 182 161 21 3.13 0.885

2026-27 season totals

GP Starts WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save %
4 3 2101 83 74 9 2.43 0.892

Contract

$4.75MCap hitends in 2030, then UFA
$213KCap dollars per goal above replacement22.3 goals above replacement, projected
$7.2MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
+$2.4MValueworth 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. The season is still being played, so each rating is projected over the whole season: the games played so far, plus the games left at the rate of the last three seasons and this one. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 63 ranked goalies whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Utah Hockey Club on Mar 5, 2025, as an extension of the contract he was on: 5 years and $23.75M, beginning in 2025-26. It runs through 2029-30, with 3 seasons 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
2025-26 $4.75M $5.75M $0 $5.75M M-NTC
2026-27 $4.75M $5.75M $0 $5.75M M-NTC
2027-28 $4.75M $5.1M $0 $5.1M M-NTC
2028-29 $4.75M $3.7M $0 $3.7M M-NTC
2029-30 $4.75M $3.45M $0 $3.45M M-NTC

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
Mar 5, 2025 Utah Hockey Club Extension 2025-26 to 2029-30 5 $23.75M $4.75M
Mar 21, 2022 Arizona Coyotes Extension 2022-23 to 2024-25 3 $8.175M $2.725M
May 4, 2021 Arizona Coyotes Entry-level 2021-22 to 2021-22 1 $925K $843K

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 2026-27 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.

2026-27 analytics

Rating, projected over the full season

2026-27 is still being played, so these are a projection of his whole season, not a count so far: what he has done in 4 games (+1.4 goals above replacement), plus the 56 more he is taken to play, going by how much of his team's games he has played before, at a rate set by his last three seasons and this one. The more he plays, the more this season counts, and by the last game it is simply his season.

+22.3Goals above replacement10th of 63 goalies
+3.7Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+5.7Goals above averagehis goals saved above expected

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 63 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.

0102030402021-222022-232023-242024-252025-262026-27Goals 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

+0.5Goals saved above expectedexpected goals minus goals against
9.5Expected goals againstfrom 129 unblocked attempts
9Goals againstwhile he was in net
0.892Save %0.886 expected from his shots
Goals saved +0.13 above expected per 60 minutes1st
Shot difficulty 7.3% chance per attempt faced1stA higher bar means his team gives up more dangerous shots.

Each bar shows the share of goalies he is ahead of, among the 0 who played at least a quarter as much as the busiest this season.

02468Expected 9.5Allowed 9

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. There is a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. "Show as heat map" shades the ice by where the attempts came from. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result Decision Shots against Saves Goals against Save % TOI
Oct 8, 2026 @ BOS L 1-6 14 11 3 0.786 43:49
Oct 6, 2026 @ NJD W 5-3 W 33 30 3 0.909 59:46
Oct 4, 2026 @ NYR L 2-4 L 21 18 3 0.857 58:40
Oct 1, 2026 vs CHI W 6-0 W, SO 15 15 0 1.000 60:00