Kraken flip Vanecek back to Capitals for 2nd-rounder

The Seattle Kraken traded goaltender Vitek Vanecek back to the Washington Capitals on Wednesday for a 2023 second-round pick.

Seattle selected Vanecek from the Capitals in the expansion draft but no longer needed his services after it added former Colorado Avalanche netminder Philipp Grubauer on a six-year, $35.4-million deal Wednesday. The Kraken also have Chris Driedger to share the crease.

The 25-year-old Vanecek posted a .908 save percentage and a 2.69 goals-against average in 37 games during his rookie campaign in 2020-21. He's expected to battle for starts with Ilya Samsonov.

The Kraken have been widely criticized for their expansion draft strategy, and this deal highlights the club's mismanagement. Seattle passed on Washington defenseman Brenden Dillon - who was recently traded for two second-round picks - in the expansion draft in favor of Vanecek. So essentially, the Kraken missed out on a free second-round pick.