The Florida Panthers are acquiring goaltender Vitek Vanecek from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for forward Patrick Giles the club announced Wednesday.
The move comes in the wake of the blockbuster Seth Jones trade, which saw Florida ship out goaltending prospect Spencer Knight. Vanecek will back up Sergei Bobrovsky as the Panthers look to load up for another deep playoff run this spring.
The Czech net minder sports a 3-10-3 record on the year for the lowly Sharks, with an .882 SV%, and 3.88 GAA. However, those figures are more to do with the roster in front of him, rather than a reflection of where Vanecek is at the moment talent wise.
A career 2.82 GAA and .903 SV% is basically in line with most backup goaltenders at the NHL level these days, which is exactly what the 29 year old will be behind Bobrovsky.
Heading back the other way is 25 year old forward Patrick Giles. The 6’5″ winger brings size to the Sharks roster, but figures to cut his teeth with the team’s AHL affiliate to start out. An undrafted native of Chevy Chase, MD, Giles could eventually play his way into a bottom 6 role for San Jose at the NHL level.
Not known for his goal scoring ability, his most productive season as a professional came during the 2023-24 campaign, where he notched 13G, 10A across 66 games for the Charlotte Checkers. The former Boston College alum brings some sandpaper to San Jose, and gives GM Mike Grier some options when facing more physical teams.
The move however is more about paving a way for regular playing time for Sharks top prospect Yaroslav Askarov, who has split time between the NHL (13 games) and AHL (19 games) levels this season.
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