This is the 2024-25 edition — an archived read. Read the 2026-27 report →
Vitek Vanecek
San Jose Sharks Goaltender
Ninety-one career wins against 42 losses, on a career save percentage of .9051.
| Season | Team | GP | W | L | OTL | GA | GAA | SO | SA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | WSH | 37 | 21 | 10 | 4 | 95 | 2.69 | 2 | 1031 | .908 |
| 2021-22 | WSH | 42 | 20 | 12 | 6 | 103 | 2.67 | 4 | 1117 | .908 |
| 2022-23 | NJD | 52 | 33 | 11 | 4 | 119 | 2.45 | 3 | 1333 | .911 |
| 2023-24 | NJD | 32 | 17 | 9 | 3 | 95 | 3.18 | 0 | 862 | .890 |
| 2024-25 so far | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Career | — | 163 | 91 | 42 | 17 | 412 | 2.70 | 9 | 4343 | .905 |
This Season So Far
The 2024-25 season has not started. The empty row above is his, and both it and this paragraph fill in on their own from the morning after he first plays: what he has done, what it is worth against his own last season, and the run he is on when the two disagree.
Last Season
32 games with New Jersey, 17-9-3 with an .8898 and a 3.18, no shutouts, facing 862 shots.
The .8898 was the sixth-lowest save percentage of any goaltender who played twenty-five games, and he still won 17 of 32. That combination is the whole of his career in one line.
The Physical Game
He is 6-2 and 184.
He is light for the modern position and plays higher in his crease than most, cutting the angle down rather than waiting to be shot at. The lateral work is quick and the recovery is good, and the trouble comes on the second and third shot when he has already committed to the first.
The Mental Game
A career .9051 across 163 games, with 91 wins against 42 losses.
Ninety-one wins in 163 games from a goaltender who has never had a .912 season is a record built almost entirely on the clubs in front of him. He does not lose games on his own and he does not steal many either; what he offers is thirty-five starts at league-average, which on this roster is worth having.
The Intangibles
Thirty-ninth overall in 2014 by Washington, four seasons, and San Jose will be his third organisation.
Nine career shutouts and 33 wins in a season two years ago. He is 28 and about to face more shots than he ever has.