Vanecek traded to Devils by Capitals for two picks in 2022 NHL Draft

Vitek Vanecek was traded to the New Jersey Devils by the Washington Capitals on Friday for a second- and third-round pick in the 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft.

Washington received the No. 37 and No. 70 picks. It selected defenseman Ryan Chesley at No. 37 and left wing Alexander Suzdalev with the No. 70 selection.

The Devils also acquired a second-round pick (No. 46) in the 2022 draft from the Capitals for Vanecek, who can become a restricted free agent July 13. New Jersey selected defenseman Seamus Casey with that pick.

The Devils used seven goalies this season, the most in their history, and allowed the fourth-most goals per game in the NHL (3.68). New Jersey (27-46-9) was seventh in the Metropolitan Division and missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fourth straight season and ninth time in the past 10 seasons.

"That was our goal from the get-go was to add to the position because of the circumstance with injuries and really depleting our depth, to be frank," Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald said. "We don't want to go through that again. I wouldn't wish that on my worse enemy. However, it's been a goal from the get-go and there are options and options get limited, so then you're trying to find really what's best and you got to put your best foot forward and make a deal for a guy, and we're fortunate to land Vitek this morning.

"It wasn't for a lack of trying because it's been going on for quite some time, so we feel really good about, again, for another summer, adding the depth to our goaltending and watching Mackenzie [Blackwood] and Vanecek performing together and challenging each other, and when [Jonathan] Bernier is healthy we'll figure it out when that time comes."

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Blackwood, the incumbent No. 1 goalie, did not play after Jan. 19 because of a recurring left heel injury. He has one season remaining on his contract. Bernier, who signed a two-year contract with the Devils last offseason, played 10 games before going on injured reserve Dec. 10 because of a hip injury.

Fitzgerald said New Jersey is looking for Blackwood and Vanecek to form a "1A and 1B" combination heading into training camp in September.

"You look at his track record in Washington," Fitzgerald said of Vanecek, "he played 40 games a year, and Mackenzie's feeling great and everybody is looking forward to what the next step is, and this hasn't changed. … The 1B attribute of pushing Mackenzie, and Mackenzie can push him to be the best so they can help us win games."

Vanecek was 20-12-6 with a 2.67 goals-against average, .908 save percentage and four shutouts in 42 games (39 starts) this season. The 26-year-old was 1-1 with a 4.21 GAA and .863 save percentage in two playoff games.

He split time this season with Ilya Samsonov, who was 23-12-5 with a 3.02 GAA, .896 save percentage and three shutouts in 44 regular-season games (39 starts), then was 1-3 with a 2.97 GAA and .912 save percentage in five playoff games (four starts).

The Capitals (44-26-12) were the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference. They lost in six games to the Florida Panthers in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference First Round.

"We've been trying to change our goaltending up a little bit," Washington general manager Brian MacLellan said. "This is the first step in doing that. We've still got some work to do to fill out our goaltending duo and some further decisions to make as we go forward here."

Selected by the Capitals in the second round (No. 39) of the 2014 NHL Draft, Vanecek is 41-22-10 with a 2.68 GAA, .908 save percentage and six shutouts in 79 regular-season games (75 starts) and 1-1 with a 4.25 GAA and .855 save percentage in three playoff games.

NHL.com staff writer Mike G. Morreale contributed to this report