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Washington Capitals Report Card: Jakub Vrana

By Andrew Gillis

CHICAGO, IL - JANUARY 20: Washington Capitals left wing Jakub Vrana (13) warms up prior to a game between the Washington Capitals and the Chicago Blackhawks on January 20, 2019, at the United Center in Chicago, IL. (Photo by Patrick Gorski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - JANUARY 20: Washington Capitals left wing Jakub Vrana (13) warms up prior to a game between the Washington Capitals and the Chicago Blackhawks on January 20, 2019, at the United Center in Chicago, IL. (Photo by Patrick Gorski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Washington Capitals left wing Jakub Vrana had a career year at the best possible time for his wallet.

In a contract year, Jakub Vrana posted a career-highs in goals (24), assists (23), average time on ice (14:02) and plus/minus (+20). The Washington Capitals know his potential.

There’s little doubt that the 23-year old Vrana is priority No. 1 for general manager Brian MacLellan this offseason, so there’s not a debate over whether the former first-round pick will be in D.C. next season. It’s how much he’ll cost.

Back in March, Isabelle Khurshudyan compared the potential Vrana contract to another 2014 first-round pick in Alex Tuch in Vegas.

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Tuch signed a seven-year, $33.25 million dollar contract with an AAV of $4.75 million. Tuch had 37 points in 2017-18 (15 goals, 22 assists) and 52 points this past season (20 goals, 32 assists). MacLellan has stated his desire to keep the Czech left-winger long-term, so that’s a fair comparable for Vrana to expect.

Don’t expect Vrana’s subpar playoff performance to factor into his contract, as there was an injury nagging him. Though, the injury wasn’t severe enough to keep him away from the world championships just a few weeks after the season ended.

With center Lars Eller locked in for another four years at a reasonable $3.5 million dollar cap hit, the Capitals should be able to lock in two-thirds of their second line for about eight million dollars. And with the potential departure of Andre Burakovsky, the third line will need an abundance of scoring.

This season, Vrana was once again a positive possession player and posted a 50.6 percent Corsi For. That was a 2.1 Relative Corsi, which was the lowest of his three-year career.

The speedy left-hander played a crucial part on the third line, both this season and last season, and played in all 82 games this season.

And whether or not he knows it, Vrana is the first domino that will likely fall this offseason for the Capitals. Depending on what Vrana’s contract turns out to be, that will likely provide the way for the rest of the re-signing and free agency period for Washington.

Should Vrana cost more than expected, then a trade to clear out cap space might be necessary and the team might be forced to say goodbye to Burakovsky or Brett Connolly. Locking down Vrana is the most pressing issue for the Capitals in the next month, and what number his contract comes in at will decide the rest of the summer.

Next. Dmitry Orlov Report Card. dark

Grade B+: Vrana had an excellent season and he’s still very clearly on the way up in his career trajectory. The Capitals, though, will no longer have a bargain on their hands with Vrana. But if he’s able to continue on the path that he’s been traveling on, that won’t be a problem for the Capitals.

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