A goalie-for-goalie transaction happened near the NHL Trade Deadline.
The New Jersey Devils have acquired netminder Kaapo Kähkönen from the San Jose Sharks.
In return, the Sharks received Vitek Vanecek and the Devils’ 2025 seventh-round pick.
ESPN’s Kevin Weekes was the first to break the news a little over an hour after the 3 p.m. ET deadline.
Kähkönen came into the league as a highly-touted goaltending prospect with the Minnesota Wild. However, when the Wild traded for Marc-Andre Fleury in March 2022, Kähkönen was the odd man out, and was dealt to the Sharks. It was the first time the Finnish puck-stopper had been traded in his NHL career.
Unfortunately, the 27-year-old has struggled behind a lackluster team, posting a goals-against average above 3.80 over the last two seasons in San Jose. He has played a little better during the 2023-24 campaign, posting a .895 save percentage in 31 appearances.
Kahkonen is in the last year of a two-year contract with an AAV of $2.75 million, and is set to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season.
In 133 NHL appearances, Kähkönen has a 48-63-15 record with a 3.36 GA, a .898 SV% and three shutouts.
The Devils took a risk going after Vanecek in July 2022, when the Czech netminder was a restricted free agent. New Jersey gave up two picks, acquiring one themselves, from the Washington Capitals for Vanecek. He had had injury problems near the end of his tenure with the Caps, with the team deciding to move on from him, eventually signing Darcy Kuemper.
While Vanecek had a great first season in the Garden State, helping the team finish second in the Metropolitan Division, he fell out of favor, with rookie netminder Akira Schmid taking over in the playoffs. Paired up with a rough 2023-24 season, general manager Tom Fitzgerald clearly decided it was time for a change.
The 28-year-old is 17-9-3 in 32 appearances this season, with a 3.18 GAA and .890 SV%. He is in the second year of a three-year contract with a $3.4 million cap hit.
In 163 NHL games, Vanecek is 91-42-17, with a 2.70 GAA, a .905 SV% and nine shutouts.
This is the third time Vanecek has been traded in his career. After he was taken by the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft, the Capitals traded to get him back in July of that year.
The Devils (31-28-4) are sixth in the Metro, eight points back of the Philadelphia Flyers for third, and six out of the last Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Sharks (15-40-7) are at the bottom of the Pacific Division, tied with the Chicago Blackhawks for the worst record in hockey.
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