SUNRISE, FLORIDA - JUNE 12: Vitek Vanecek #41 of the Florida Panthers warms up before playing the Edmonton Oilers in Game Four of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena on June 12, 2025 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Mammoth fell just shy of a playoff birth in its inaugural season, and GM Bill Armstrong won’t settle for the same result next spring. On the heels of four signings earlier in the day, Utah bolstered its depth in goal with the signing of Vítek Vaněček.
Utah announced the acquisition on Tuesday, July 1. The deal is for one year at $1.5 million.
BREAKING: Utah has signed goaltender Vitek Vaněček to a one-year contract.
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) July 1, 2025
Vaněček won a Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers after being acquired in a mid-season trade with the San Jose Sharks.
He has a career save percentage of .902 in 188 games (176 starts).
Listed at 6’2 and 184 pounds, Vaněček was drafted by the Washington Capitals in the second round (39th overall) of the 2014 NHL draft.
Seattle then selected him in the 2021 expansion draft before dealing him back to Washington for a 2023 second-round pick.
He first reached the NHL with Washington in 2021, making 36 starts for the Capitals. He ended the year with a .908 save percentage and went 21-10-4.
We have signed goaltender Vitek Vaněček to a one-year contract. pic.twitter.com/aogrHyyYix
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) July 1, 2025
Following two seasons in the Nation’s capital, Vaněček was traded to the New Jersey Devils in July 2022. He appeared in 84 games with the Devils through two seasons.
New Jersey dealt Vaněček to the San Jose Sharks in March 2024. He made 17 starts with San Jose before being acquired by the Panthers.
Cole Bagley is the Utah Mammoth insider for KSL Sports. Keep up with him on X here. You can hear Cole break down the team on KSL Sports Zone and KSL 5 TV.
Brian Preece is a KSLSports.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball here. Find Brian on X, Instagram, and BlueSky at @bpreece24.
