The biggest move of the Washington Capitals offseason just happened to bring back a key component to their future. Jakub Vrana is back in D.C. for at least two more seasons.
Jakub Vrana and the Washington Capitals agreed to a two-year bridge deal worth $6.7 million, an average annual value of $3.35 million. This move nearly completes Washington’s successful yet emotional offseason that saw them say goodbye to three popular players but say hello to three new forwards and a defenseman.
Re-signing Carl Hagelin ensured depth in the bottom six with the new additions of Richard Panik, Garnet Hathaway, and Brendan Leipsic to go next to returning centers Lars Eller and Nic Dowd.
The top six is now locked in for opening night. Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Tom Wilson should round out the top line. Look for Vrana to be right at his familiar spot on the second line next to Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie.
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This move now leaves the Capitals with $935,706 left in cap space per CapFriendly. Just under one million to try to sign the other two Capitals restricted free agents: Christian Djoos and Chandler Stephenson. Both players have arbitration hearings, Djoos’ taking place this Monday.
Vrana had a monster season in 2018-19, setting career highs in every offensive category with 24 goals and 23 assists for 47 points. Vrana has posted 80 career points (40 goals, 40 assists) in 176 games with the Capitals.
Vrana was selected by the Capitals in the first round at 13th overall in the 2014 NHL Draft and made his NHL debut two and a half years later. Many Capitals fans who also follow the Bears saw how Vrana rose up the prospect rankings and he showed flashes of the potential he’d bring during those brief stops from recalls.
2017-18 was Vrana’s first full season and it was evident the struggles he endured from the full 82-game grind. From scoring slumps to occasional scratches from the lineup, Vrana struggled to earn the trust of the coaches. He responded by stepping it up in the playoffs after getting benched in Game 2 of the first round. Vrana maintained a spot in the lineup since and had three big goals during the Capitals run to the Stanley Cup.
The press release from the Capitals also notes that in addition to Vrana reaching career-highs in 2018-19, Vrana had the best differential among forwards and did something fans hadn’t seen a young Capitals player do since a 22-year old Nicklas Backstrom:
"The 6’0″, 197-pound forward was on the ice for 59 goals at five-on-five and 37 goals against, recording the best differential among forwards on the Capitals. The Prague, Czech Republic, native became the 15th player in franchise history to record at least 24 goals in a single season before the age of 24 and the first since Nicklas Backstrom in 2009-10 (33 goals)."
The Capitals may have invested into Vrana’s future for just two years but if he keeps trending upward the way he has, it’ll be a no brainer to give him a raise by the time he reaches UFA status.