Panthers stay active at NHL trade deadline, adding goalie Vitek Vanecek
The defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers continue to be active in the lead up to the NHL trade deadline.
The Panthers acquired goaltender Vitek Vanecek on Wednesday from the San Jose Sharks for 25-year-old forward Patrick Giles, the teams announced.
The NHL deadline is Friday at 3 p.m. ET.
Vanecek gives Florida depth in net, along with Chris Driedger, behind two-time Vezina Trophy-winning starter Sergei Bobrovsky. The trade comes after the team sent Spencer Knight to Chicago as part of a blockbuster deal for top-pairing defenceman Seth Jones.
Florida will be the fourth NHL organization for Vanecek, who was 3-10-3 in 18 appearances with San Jose this season. The Sharks held him out of their game Tuesday night at Buffalo in preparation of trading the 29-year-old from the Czech Republic.
"It's part of the business," said Sharks goaltender Alexandar Georgiev, who was traded there from Colorado for Mackenzie Blackwood earlier this season. "Unfortunately sometimes players get moved. … Hopefully it's a good opportunity for him."
The Sharks in Giles get a young player to add to their core built around No. 1 pick and rookie-of-the-year candidate Macklin Celebrini. Giles appeared in nine NHL games for the Panthers earlier this season without a point. He has mostly been with the team's American Hockey League affiliate in Charlotte, N.C.
San Jose in a corresponding roster move recalled Georgi Romanov from the Barracuda of the AHL.
The goalie market ahead of the deadline remains thin outside of perhaps Anaheim's John Gibson, but other talks continue to pick up around the league. After signing pending free agent tough guy Mathieu Olivier to a six-year, $18 million US extension, Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Don