NEWARK, NY --On Sunday, the New York Islanders let goaltender Vitek Vanecek , who they signed to a one-year, $1 million deal this summer, play the entirety of their 2-1 preseason loss to the New Jersey Devils .
He made 18 saves on 20 shots.
"I thought Vanacek played well," Islanders head coach Pete DeBoer said. "He gives us some good goalie depth in the organization."
Vanecek, who won a Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers in 2024-25 before joining the Utah Mammoth for the 2025-26 season, was brought in as an insurance policy for veteran netminder Semyon Varlamov , whose future was still in the air as he worked his way back from two partial knee replacements.
With Varlamov looking sharp but having yet to face the trials and tribulations of an NHL season since November of 2024, are the Islanders considering going with a three-goalie system to start this season?
"It's been discussed," DeBoer said. "But it does handcuff you [roster-wise]. That's all going to depend on how Varly's doing and how he's feeling and things like that. In talking with Mathieu [Darche], I don't think that we want to go there, but it's on the table if we have to."
If the Islanders don't go that route, Vanecek will need to clear waivers before reporting to Hamilton of the American Hockey League.
There won't be much risk of Vanecek being claimed if he's sent on waivers as part of the final cuts, which usually occurs 24 hours before NHL teams must be cap compliant.
During that time, teams are shedding cap, not adding to it.
If the Islanders held on to Vanecek to start the season and then sent him down through waivers later, they'd run a much greater risk of him being claimed.
As DeBoer said, a Vanecek decision is all about how Varlamov is doing.
Varlamov is expected to get at least one full preseason game later in the week, and he may get half a game on Tuesday against the New York Rangers -- we shall see.
