Czech goaltender Miroslav SvobodaS time with Finland’s Vaasan Sport has come to an end, the Liiga club announced today. The 30-year-old netminder’s tenure was largely impacted by a shoulder injury sustained in November 2023, limiting his playing time over the past year. The move comes as Vaasan Sport seeks to reshape its roster while navigating a challenging season near the bottom of the league standings.
Miroslav Svoboda
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Foto: Facebook Leijonat.com
Czech goaltender Miroslav Svoboda and Finnish Liiga club Vaasan Sport have mutually agreed to terminate their contract, the team announced. The 30-year-old netminder missed nearly the entire 2023 season due to injury and has only appeared in two games this year.
Miroslav Svoboda
Goaltender, 30 years old
” href=”https://www.hokej.cz/hrac/miroslav-svoboda/14185″>Svoboda joined Vaasan Sport after the 2022/23 season following a stint with Plzeň in the Czech Extraliga. He initially established himself as the team’s starting goalie, but a dislocated shoulder suffered on November 20th of last year sidelined him for the remainder of the season.
“I still have a contract for next year, so the doctors were more focused on making sure I’m healthy for the next season. I would have missed a lot of time this year anyway. We just agreed not to rush things, so I can get back to full strength,” Svoboda said in an interview with Hokej.cz last year.
This season, Svoboda posted a shutout against Kärpät Oulu in his first start, but allowed four goals in his next appearance against Hämeenlinna and did not see action again. Joni Ortio, a 34-year-old Finnish netminder, has firmly established himself as Sport Vaasa’s number one goalie after being signed prior to the season.
“We brought in Ortio as our starting goaltender. Svoboda will remain with the team until we can find him a new opportunity,” head coach Doug Shedden told ilkkapohjalainen.fi in early December.
Vaasan Sport currently sits at the bottom of the Liiga standings, seven points behind Kärpät for the second-to-last playoff spot. The club is looking to make changes to bolster its roster, but according to Finnish media reports, Svoboda’s salary was among the highest on the team.
“Our primary task is to find a new club for Svoboda and then we’ll see what happens,” said sporting director Ari-Pekka Pajuluoma. There had been speculation about a possible move to Sweden, but no agreement was reached.
Now, Svoboda and the club have reached a mutual agreement to end their partnership. His next move remains to be seen.
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