The depth deals keep on coming in for the New York Islanders, as the team has now signed goaltender Vitek Vanecek and right-shot defenseman Matthew Kessel to one-year contracts.
Vanecek’s deal is identical to to ex-Islanders’ David Rittich‘s, signed purely to be a strong depth option behind Semyon Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin.
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Vanecek played 22 games for the Utah Mammoth last season.
Kessel, 26, signed a one-year, one-way, $850k (league minimum) contract with the Islanders.
Kessel is a big 6’3 right-shot defenseman that played 29 games last season for the St. Louis Blues, scoring two goals and three points.
The 26-year-old defenseman will compete for a roster spot, and an opening-night lineup spot with the Islanders.
Kessel provides needed, NHL-ready depth for the Islanders’ right side behind the presumed top three of Ryan Pulock, Tony DeAngelo, and Scott Mayfield.
