SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks are holding goalie Vitek Vanecek out of Tuesday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres for trade-related reasons.
The news, first reported by San Jose Hockey Now, came less than three hours before the Sharks face the Sabres at Keybank Arena.
Vanecek, one of several pending unrestricted free agents on the Sharks’ roster, is in the final year of a three-year, $10.2 million contract with a $3.4 million cap hit.
Since the Sharks do not have any of their three salary retention spots available this season, any team that acquires Vanecek would have to take on a prorated percentage of Vanecek’s cap hit, or a little more than 20% of what is owed. Or, the Sharks and the acquiring team would have to involve a third NHL team to absorb some of Vanecek’s cap hit.
In 18 games with the Sharks this season, the 29-year-old Vanecek has a 3-10-3 record and a .882 save percentage. Now in his fifth NHL season, Vanecek, in 181 career NHL games with three teams, has a record of 94-52-20 with a .903 save percentage.
Vanecek hasn’t won since Nov. 29, when the Sharks beat the Seattle Kraken 8-5 at SAP Center. Vanecek has a 0-5-2 record with an .863 save percentage since that game, as he missed roughly six weeks from mid-December to early February with a fractured cheekbone.
Since his return to the Sharks’ lineup on Feb. 6, Vanecek is 0-2-2 with a .871 save percentage.
Alexandar Georgiev, the only other goalie on the Sharks’ roster, is in line to start against the Sabres. Georgiev started Monday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs and made 25 saves in the Sharks’ 3-2 shootout win at Scotiabank Arena.
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