<p>The New Jersey Devils have signed goaltender Vitek Vanecek to a three-year contract, the team announced on Tuesday. </p>







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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We have signed goalie Vitek Vanecek to a three-year contract.<br><br>📰: <a href="https://t.co/pw4IknW9LD">https://t.co/pw4IknW9LD</a> <a href="https://t.co/1jt6hE7oYd">pic.twitter.com/1jt6hE7oYd</a></p>— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) <a href="https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1549394021847638016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 19, 2022</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p><meta charset="utf-8">Vanecek was acquired from the Washington Capitals at the 2022 NHL Draft in exchange for a second- and a third-round pick. </p>



<p><meta charset="utf-8">Vanecek was drafted by the Capitals in the second round of the 2014 NHL Draft. He made his NHL debut with the Capitals in 2021 and posted a .908 save percentage over the course of 37 games. <meta charset="utf-8">Vanecek followed that up with a .908 save percentage in 42 games during the 2021-22 season. </p>



<p>The Capitals moved on from their goaltending tandem this summer, trading <meta charset="utf-8">Vanecek to New Jersey and opting not to give Ilya Samsonov a qualifying offer. They signed Darcy Kuemper, who won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche, to a five-year deal.</p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="149"></div>



<p>The Devils are hoping that <meta charset="utf-8">Vanecek can provide the team with some much-needed stable goaltending next season. New Jersey ranked 31st in the NHL with a .881 team save percentage last season and they used seven different goaltenders in the process. </p>



<p>The expectation is that <meta charset="utf-8">Vanecek will form a tandem with Mackenzie Blackwood in the NHL while Nico Daws and Akira Schmid play in the AHL. Jonathan Bernier, who played in only eight games last season due to a hip injury, might not be ready for the start of the 2022-23 season. </p>