The Washington Capitals brought back Jakub Vrana before the season began and he successfully made the team out of training camp. But in the end, Vrana barely played and got picked up by the Nashville Predators after the team placed him on waivers.
Vrana suited up for 26 games with the Capitals and recorded seven goals and four assits for 11 points during his time in DC. He also had a plus/minus of +6.
With the Predators after the waiver wire pickup, Vrana had two goals and one assist for three points but his plus/minus dipped to -10. Vrana would average 9:50 minutes of ice time with Washington and 11:23 minutes with Nashville.
It turned out to be Vrana's second tenure with the Capitals in his career. He was drafted in the first round in 2014. He helped contribute to the Capitals run to the 2018 Stanley Cup four summers later.
But for most of this season when Vrana wasn't on the ice he was spending time in the press box as a healthy scratch. His last game with the Capitals came on Feb. 27 when he filled in for Tom Wilson and marked his first game in nearly two months.
Although he did't play much Spencer Carbery was sad to lose Vrana and was quick to point out his strengths and the importance of organizational depth.
"(It's) bittersweet. I was disappointed that we no longer have him in the organization. But I was also, at th esame time, very, very happy for V to be able to get an opportunity and go play for the rest of the season in Nashville, for an organization that there's some attachments there with Barry (Trotz). So it stinks for us because having a player like him, even though he wasn't playing, to have him around and if there's an injury or if we need someone in the lineup, we always had him. And he was just, the guys loved him. He was great all year," Spencer Carbery said at the time.
Grade D+: It wasn't a bad season for Vrana. He just barley played. But the seven goals when he was in the lineup was certainly a good thing.