Vitek Vanecek, Washington Capitals Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
There may be a position battle surrounding the Washington Capitals that will extend beyond training camp. After extending Ilya Samsonov for one more season, the Caps also traded back for Vitek Vanecek from the Seattle Kraken.
Vanecek made his NHL debut last season on Jan. 15 against the Buffalo Sabres. The 25 year old finished his rookie season with 21-10-4 record, two shutouts, a 2.69 goals against average and a .908 save percentage. He led all rookie goaltenders in wins.
The six foot two, 187 pound goalie became the second goaltender in franchise history to record 21 wins in his rookie season.