On Sunday, the Coyotes parted ways with one of their goalies in Scott Wedgewood. Today, they are ensuring that Karel Vejmelka will be sticking around as Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek reports (Twitter link) that Arizona has agreed to a three-year extension with the netminder. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman adds (via Twitter) that the deal will be in the $2.5M to $3M range.
The 25-year-old has certainly been a pleasant surprise for Arizona this season. He signed a one-year entry-level deal back in May after playing in the Czech Extraliga and at the time, he was viewed as organizational goaltending depth and not a serious candidate to make the NHL roster. However, a strong training camp earned him a spot with the Coyotes and he has taken off from there.
Vejmelka quickly took over from the since-traded Carter Hutton as Arizona’s starter and has done well, considering the circumstances. His save percentage of .905 is particularly impressive considering that the Coyotes’ roster is geared more towards draft lottery success than on-ice success this season. His performance has picked up in recent games as over his last ten starts, his save percentage is up to .912 while the Coyotes have won four of those contests.
With this agreement, Arizona will have at least part of their goalie tandem intact for the next three seasons. They’ve yet to recall someone to take Wedgewood’s spot following his trade with Ivan Prosvetov and Josef Korenar being the likely candidates to fill that spot down the stretch. Neither of them project to be full-time NHL goalies, however, so the Coyotes will likely be shopping for a new partner for Vejmelka in the offseason.
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