Fri, Jul 8, 2022 at 10:35am

DEVILS DEAL FOR VANECEK

The New Jersey Devils acquired goaltender Vitek Vanecek and a second-round draft pick in 2022 (No. 46 overall) from the Washington Capitals for a second-round draft pick in 2022 (No. 37 overall) and a third-round draft pick in 2022 (No. 70 overall).

What does it give the New Jersey Devils
In Vanecek, the Devils get a young goaltender who will probably get the opportunity to establish himself as the starter in 2022-23. They also have an unsigned Mackenzie Blackwood, an injured Jonathan Bernier and prospects Nico Daws and Akira Schmid. Like Blackwood, Vanecek is an unsigned restricted free agent. Once the latter signs, look for Blackwood to be traded. This is an interesting move by New Jersey.

What does it give the Washington Capitals
The Capitals had two unsigned restricted free agent goaltenders in Vanecek and Ilya Samsonov. Moving out the former could mean that the latter will now become the undisputed No. 1 man in Washington. However, look for the Capitals to keep shopping for goaltending help. There are a lot of teams currently looking for an upgrade between the pipes, so could Washington be tempted to move Samsonov too?

Fantasy impact
This trade should be good news for both Vanecek and Samsonov, although neither player is signed for the 2022-23 campaign at present time. This deal could be bad news for Blackwood, who seems to be on the way out of New Jersey.