Vitek Vanecek
Team: New Jersey Devils
Style: Road Jersey
Manufacturer: Adidas
Material: Primegreen
Tagging: Manufacturer's care tag and size stamp in neck; Meigray tag in hem
Year: 2022-23
Set: 2
Size: 58G
Patches: Devils 40th Anniversary
Acquired From: Meigray
Photomatched: Yes
Description from Meigray: Vitek Vanecek wore this white jersey while playing for the New Jersey Devils during the 2022-23 National Hockey League season. It includes the Devils' 40th Anniversary patch.
Vanecek was wearing this jersey when he faced the 3,000th shot of his NHL career on February 11, 2023 against the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN. Vanecek faced 24 shots in the game to cross the 3,000 threshold. He stopped 22 of them, earning a .917 save percentage on the evening. The game went to shootout, where the Devils fell, but the standings point the Devils earned in the loss kept Vanecek’s career-high points streak alive. That streak began with a shootout win on December 30, 2022, and would eventually end on March 7, 2023 after 13 games.
The New Jersey Devils wore their White Set 2 jerseys from January 26, 2023 through April 13, 2023.
In his first season with the New Jersey Devils, Vanecek finished with a 33-11-4 record. He posted career highs in wins as well as games (52), starts (48), save percentage (.911), and GAA (2.45). He had three shutouts on the season and scored his first three points in the NHL. After recording eight wins and one loss in November, Vanecek was named the NHL’s Second Star of the Month. He became the second goaltender in franchise history after Sean Burke to earn 11 wins in their first 15 games with the team. On March 30, 2023, he also became the second goaltender in franchise history to record 30 wins in a season, after Martin Brodeur.
The Devils had their winningest season in franchise history in 2022-23, going 52-22-8 for 112 points.
The jersey shows great wear with lots of puck marks on the body and sleeves that match up nicely to images of Vanecek wearing it in game action.
