Florida Panthers Officially Make a Goalie Trade with the San Jose Sharks
NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman has reported that the Florida Panthers have a trade pin place to shore up their goaltending after trading away Spencer Knight.
After sending away goaltender Spencer Knight to the Chicago Blackhawks as part of a package for defenseman Seth Jones, the Florida Panthers were a little short on help in the crease, and had to figure out a plan.
A plan has been figured out, at least according to NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman. He reported that there is a package in place for Florida to acquire Vitek Vanecek from San Jose.
The Sharks have acquired forward prospect Patrick Giles, who is currently playing with Charlotte of the AHL.
It's not the flashiest deal that is going to happen before the trade deadline ends but it's the necessary one for the Panthers if they want to give themselves a greater chance at repeating for the Stanley Cup.
Vanecek, 29, hasn't had the strongest season although a lot of that is due to how weak the Sharks are overall.
In 30 games, he's posted a 3-10-3 record with a 3.88 GAA and .882 SV% but for his career has been a very reliable goaltender.
Drafted 39th overall in 2014, he has a career 94-52-20 record with a 2.82 GAA and .903 SV% with time spent in Washington, New Jersey, and San Jose.
His best season came in 2022-23 where he had a very respectable 33-11-4 record with a 2.45 GAA and .911 SV%.
He was traded to the Sharks for Kaapo Kahkonen, a struggling journeyman goaltender who has only played one game in the 2024-25 season.
Vanecek is a free agent at season's end, and is making $3.4M for the year.
Going the other way is Patrick Giles, a power forward out of Boston College who has had a very small spell in the NHL with nine games.
Only 25, Giles will no doubt be given a bigger spotlight with the Sharks and could very well earn a spot on the roster for the rest of the season as the team gauges his future.
He has seven points in 39 games for the Charlotte Checkers this season, and isn't known for being a huge offensive star, preferring to use his size although he could definitely add a scoring touch in years to come.
Giles is making the league minimum $775,000 for this year and the next, and will be an RFA at the end of next season.
Both teams improved in different ways, and with Florida needing backup for Sergei Bobrovsky, and San Jose in a rebuild needing new faces and stars; it's a great match and a cheap one at that.
