We haven’t seen Jakub Vrána in a Capitals jersey during the regular season for more than three years. After spending some time with the St. Louis Blues and Detroit Red Wings, Vrána came into training camp this year on a professional tryout agreement (PTO). Translation: Impress the coaches during training camp or you don’t get a roster spot.
In four preseason games, he contributed by getting an assist and scoring one goal off a great feed from Connor McMichael.
Vrana goal? Vrana goal! pic.twitter.com/IZDKeuESLM
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) September 28, 2024
This was enough for the Caps to sign Vrana to a one-year $775,000 one-way contract, according to PuckPedia.
Vrána earned praise from his teammates and coaches for his speed and skill. After playing the Devils in preseason, coach Spencer Carbery said, “Vrána, I thought, was strong, had some good looks as well.”
During Training camp, Tom Wilson, who played with Vrána when he was on the Caps previously, said Vrána is “one of the best skaters out there and he’s got a ton of skill…I’m excited to have him around.” And of course Vrána himself has said that Washington is his heart, and he was ready to prove he can play here.
Most notably, he beat out prospects Ivan Miroshnichenko and Andrew Cristall in the final round of roster cuts. Most likely, Vrána will be a floater in the lineup, playing where he is needed. He’s moved around the preseason lineup, sometimes playing with Hershey prospects and other times playing with Capitals regulars. Interestingly, Vrána did seem to have some good chemistry with McMichael but can easily slide into Sonny Milano’s spot on the third line with Hendrix Lapierre and Aliaksei Protas.
When Vrana made the team coming out of the 2017 training camp, he had a breakout season. He played 73 games and scored 13 goals, 14 assists. He scored three pivotal goals in the 2018 Stanley Cup championship run, averaged 11:56 TOI per game, and famously made Braden Holtby hold his hand when the team got commemorative Stanley Cup tattoos.
Vrána continued to impress Washington the next year, playing all 82 games and racking up 24 goals and 23 assists. He showed off his shootout skills during a particularly memorable Bruins game that year, too. Many compared Vrána’s goal to being Pavel Datsyuk-like.
On behalf of all Capitals fans, welcome back, Jake the Snake. We can’t wait to see what you’ll do this year.
