Detroit Red Wings: Forward Jakub Vrana is going to excel in new home
By Tyler Kotila
The Detroit Red Wings brought back a stellar forward in Jakub Vrana; he is going to excel in Hockeytown. When General Manager (GM) Steve Yzerman sent Anthony Mantha over to the Washington Capitals at the trade deadline, he got a 25-year-old forward in return.
Vrana may have made an exceptional first impression on Red Wings fans with his one-goal performance against the Chicago Blackhawks at Little Caesars Arena. He is young and can be brought back with ease for Yzerman, who should be eager to keep him around.
For Vrana, a change of scenery may not be needed as much as it was for Mantha, but he should do exceptionally well alongside the younger core of this team. Especially as the team starts to age and get older, Vrana will be able to settle in nicely.
Vrana is a former first-round pick of the Capitals from the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. He is a native of the Czech Republic, Prague, to be exact. He should be able to connect well with one of the Red Wings youngsters, Filip Zadina, who is from Pardubice, Czech Republic.
Detroit Red Wings forward Jakub Vrana is going to excel with his new team.
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Since being drafted in 2014, Vrana has logged four seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with 2020-21 being his fifth.
Vrana’s best season came in 2019-20 when he played in 69 games, scoring 25 goals and 27 assists for 52 total points on the year.
This year with the Capitals, Vrana has played in 39 games where he has scored 11 goals and added 14 assists.
Now with the Red Wings, he has logged one game and has one goal to his credit, not too shabby for the young forward who spent his first game playing alongside Valtteri Filppula and Michael Rasmussen.
He has a plus-nine plus/minus rating on the season as well, which is not as surprising on a team that is actually competitive. My bold prediction for Vrana is that he will be as good of a forward as Mantha.
Yzerman can keep Vrana around if he chooses as he is a restricted free agent who is arbitration-eligible this offseason. It seems as if Vrana is going to be able to settle in nicely with the Red Wings current group of forwards.
Vrana is going to be a solid addition to the Red Wings forward core alongside his Czech buddy, Zadina. As the Red Wings start to get better and the youngsters start to fill out the lineup, Vrana is going to become a consistent source of offense, even on a rebuilding team.
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The best thing for Vrana would be if he can fill the gap that is being left by Mantha, who has left for greener pastures. Fans should expect Vrana to be a phenomenal addition to the Red Wings.