Detroit Red Wings
Former Red Wings Player Heading Back to Europe
Vrana leaving NHL struggles behind
When Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman was acquiring Jakub Vrana from the Washington Capitals, it was appearing to be the steal of the 2021 NHL trade deadline.
On this day in 2021, the Red Wings acquired Jakub Vrana, Richard Panik, a 2021 first-round pick (Wyatt Johnston) and a 2022 second-round pick (Dmitri Buchelnikov) from the Capitals in exchange for Anthony Mantha #Hockey365 #LGRW pic.twitter.com/0a2wYzXnaS
— Mike Commito (@mikecommito) April 12, 2025
Vrana scored eight goals in his first 11 games with the Red Wings, including a four-goal game against the Dallas Stars. He was a two-time 20-goal scorer and a Stanley Cup champion with the Capitals. It looked as though Detroit was adding a player with a significant upside.
Almost as quickly, things went off the rails. Vrana declined the team’s request to undergo shoulder surgery following that 2020-21 season, opting to rehab his injury at home in Czechia.
The first day of training camp in the fall of 2021, Vrana would suffer a serious injury to that shoulder, requiring surgery. He ended up playing just 26 games that season.
Two games into the 2022-23 campaign, Vrana was entering the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance program due to substance abuse issues. He’d play just five more games with the Red Wings. At one point after clearing NHL waivers, he was given assignment to the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins.
Jakub Vrana – Dallas Stars (9) pic.twitter.com/Kt2ZEs3EGS
— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) April 17, 2025
Detroit dealt him to the St. Louis Blues at the 2023 trade deadline. Since then, Vrana has also suited with the Capitals a second time and for the Nashville Predators. He scored nine goals in 39 games this past season.
Now, it would appear that Vrana and the NHL are parting company.
Former Red Wings Player Looking For European Work
According to a report from Czech website iSport, Vrana is setting out in seach of European vocation.
“I think I’ve been through a lot,” Vrana told the site. “I’ll come to terms with it somehow.”
The speculation is that he’ll be signing with Sparta Prague of the Czech Extraliga.
Vrana previously played in Sweden for Linkoping. That club is also expressing interest in once again acquiring his services.
“Should Jakub Vrana decide to play in Europe, I think we are in a good position,” Linkoping’s general manager Peter Jakobsson told Hockey News SE.
