Utah made a big move to lock up their star goalie Karel Vejmelka, signing him to a five-year deal worth $4.75 million per season.
It’s the third signing of a busy Wednesday for the team, following one-year extensions for Alexander Kerfoot and Ian Cole.
Vejmelka’s story is pretty remarkable. He didn’t come to North America until he was 25, starting on a simple one-year contract that could’ve sent him to the minors. Instead, he shocked everyone by becoming the team’s main goalie, playing 52 games that first season.
His early numbers weren’t amazing – but that’s not surprising given he was playing for a rebuilding team. Still, he showed enough promise that Utah gave him a three-year, $8.175 million deal just 11 months after he arrived.
The first couple years were a bit of a roller coaster. He even lost playing time to Connor Ingram at one point. His save percentage stayed below .900, and he was letting in more than three goals per game on average.
But this season? Everything changed.
Vejmelka has been absolutely fantastic. He’s cut his goals-against average down to 2.45 – that’s more than a full goal better than his previous seasons. His save percentage has jumped to .910, putting him well above the league average.
He’s now among the NHL’s top 10 goalies in preventing goals beyond what’s expected. That’s helped keep Utah in the playoff hunt – they’re just four points behind Calgary for the final Western Conference playoff spot.
The deal makes sense when you look at recent goalie contracts. Seattle’s Joey Daccord just got $5 million per year, while Kevin Lankinen signed for $4.5 million annually. Vejmelka’s contract fits right in that range.
Utah now has both their goalies signed through 2026-27, with a combined cost of $6.7 million – that’s pretty reasonable in today’s NHL.
The team has 20 players locked up for next season. While GM Bill Armstrong might still make some big moves, it looks like they’ll keep most of this year’s group together.
