Vrana agreed to terms on a professional tryout agreement with Washington on Thursday.
Vrana saw action in 21 games for the Blues last year in which he notched two goals on 42 shots, four assists and nine hits while averaging 12:08 of ice time. The 28-year-old winger spent parts of five seasons with the Capitals, including the club's Stanley Cup-winning 2017-18 campaign. Heading into the upcoming season, Vrana will likely need to edge out the likes of Michael Sgarbossa or Sonny Milano to secure a permanent NHL deal -- though a two-way contract could also be an option for the Caps if Vrana is willing to go that route.
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Blues' Jakub Vrana: Headed back to minors
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Vrana was reassigned to AHL Springfield on Friday.
Vrana's demotion comes as Justin Faulk (lower body) was activated off injured reserve in a corresponding move. In four games since being brought back up from the minors, the 27-year-old Vrana has served as a healthy scratch twice, so it shouldn't come as a surprise to see him dropped from the 23-man roster.
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Blues' Jakub Vrana: Up from minors
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Vrana was called up from AHL Springfield on Thursday.
Vrana was waived Dec. 12 and reassigned to Springfield after scoring just two goals and six points in 19 contests with St. Louis. He excelled in Springfield, though, providing four goals and eight points in seven games. Perhaps his time in the AHL has helped the 27-year-old as he now looks to build off that success in St. Louis.
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Blues' Jakub Vrana: Waived Tuesday
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Vrana was designated for waivers by the Blues on Tuesday, Chris Johnston of The Athletic reports.
Vrana has played in just four of St. Louis' last 10 contests and isn't expected to suit up against Detroit on Tuesday either. Given his pricey cap hit ($2.625 million), the team has opted to either bury his deal in the minors or hope somebody claims him off waivers. A Stanley Cup winner, Vrana does have 365 games of NHL experience in which he has racked up 110 goals and 99 assists. As such, Vrana could be an intriguing option for one of the league's other 31 teams.
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Blues' Jakub Vrana: Tallies in win
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Vrana scored a goal on three shots in Tuesday's 5-0 win over the Lightning.
Vrana snapped an eight-game goal drought with the second-period marker. The 27-year-old winger is up to two tallies, six points, 28 shots on net and a plus-3 rating over 12 appearances. He's been an occasional healthy scratch, but it appears Vrana is holding a spot over Nikita Alexandrov for now, though it's not one that will lead to much fantasy relevance.
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Blues' Jakub Vrana: Picks up helper
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Vrana notched an assist and three shots on goal in Friday's 4-1 win over the Devils.
Vrana snapped a three-game point drought with the helper on Kevin Hayes' first goal of the contest. In that span, Vrana was also a healthy scratch twice. The 27-year-old winger is up to four points, 13 shots on net and a plus-1 rating through seven contests, but he hasn't secured his place in the Blues' lineup. When he plays, it's often been in a third-line role, so his fantasy appeal is also fairly low.
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Blues' Jakub Vrana: Directs three shots on net
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Vrana posted three shots on net and a minus-1 rating across 15:20 of ice time in Wednesday's 4-1 loss to the Avalanche.
Vrana returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch for two straight games. The 27-year-old was active on offense against the divisional foe, including a breakaway opportunity in the second period. He's skating on the third line and still handling power-play minutes, but he'll be tough to trust for fantasy purposes until he cements himself in the lineup.
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Blues' Jakub Vrana: Healthy scratch Thursday
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Vrana was a healthy scratch in Thursday's 3-0 win over the Flames, Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post Dispatch reports.
Vrana is in the last season of a three-year, $15.75 million contract that he signed with the Red Wings in August of 2021. Head coach Craig Berube said before the game that Vrana's performance hasn't been up to the team's standards despite the 27-year-old scoring a goal and adding two assists through five games. Vrana will certainly get another chance in the lineup, but his fantasy relevance will be flaky unless he can establish himself in the top six.
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Blues' Jakub Vrana: Grabs two points in loss
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Vrana picked up a goal and an assist in Thursday's 6-2 loss to the Coyotes.
Vrana got St. Louis on the board in the second period with his first goal of the season, ripping a wrist shot past Connor Ingram from the slot before picking up an assist on a Sammy Blais tally in the third. The 27-year-old Vrana now has a goal and two assists through three games to start the year, picking up where he left off with the Blues last season when he tallied 10 goals and 14 points in 20 games following a midseason trade from Detroit.
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Blues' Jakub Vrana: Slides assist Saturday
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Vrana notched an assist in Saturday's 5-3 loss to the Wild.
Vrana's cooled off since the start of April, logging just two assists over five games this month. The 27-year-old winger is up to 15 points, 60 shots on net and a plus-4 rating through 23 contests between the Blues and the Red Wings this season.
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Blues' Jakub Vrana: Stays hot Thursday
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Vrana contributed a goal in a 5-3 win over Chicago on Thursday.
Vrana's marker came early in the second period and gave the Blues a 1-0 lead. It was his 10th goal and 13th point in 18 games this season. Vrana has contributed four goals and five points over his last four appearances.
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Blues' Jakub Vrana: Nets overtime winner
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Vrana scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner in overtime, in Tuesday's 6-5 win over Vancouver.
Vrana gave St. Louis a 3-2 lead in the second period, one-timing a feed from Brandon Saad in the slot. Vrana would later score the winning goal 28 seconds into overtime. The 27-year-old winger now has three goals and four points in his last three contests. Vrana's excelled since joining the Blues, tallying eight goals and 10 points in 12 games after recording two points in just five outings with the Red Wings.
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Blues' Jakub Vrana: Goal and assist in win
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Vrana scored a goal on three shots, added an assist, went plus-3 and logged two PIM in Saturday's 6-3 win over the Ducks.
Vrana has six goals and two helpers over his last nine outings. He tied the game at 1-1 early in the first period and set up Brayden Schenn's tally 1:02 into the middle frame. Through 15 contests between the Blues and the Red Wings this season, Vrana has 10 points, 40 shots on net, 10 hits and a plus-5 rating. He's seeing middle-six minutes and making the most of them with St. Louis.
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Blues' Jakub Vrana: Nets two goals in loss
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Vrana scored twice on five shots and added two PIM in Wednesday's 8-5 loss to the Wild.
Vrana was initially a game-time decision after needing stitches on his nose from taking a skate blade to the face at the morning skate. He wore extra face protection in the game, and it didn't slow him down. The 27-year-old has four goals over his last four contests, and he's up to five goals, one assist, 26 shots on net, eight hits and a minus-1 rating through 10 outings between the Blues and the Red Wings this season.
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Blues' Jakub Vrana: Clear to play
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Vrana (nose) will play Wednesday versus the Wild, Lou Korac of NHL.com reports.
Vrana has two goals over the last four contests. He's expected to play in a top-six role after the nose injury he sustained at practice was ultimately a minor issue.
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Blues' Jakub Vrana: Suffers nose injury Wednesday
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Vrana sustained a nose injury at practice Wednesday and will be a game-time decision versus Minnesota, Lou Korac of NHL.com reports.
Vrana has recorded two goals on 14 shots in his last four contests, including a power-play goal. If the winger is unable to play against the Wild, he will likely be replaced by Brandon Saad or Sammy Blais in a top-six role, with Saad likely to move up to the top power-play unit as well. For his part, Vrana should continue to provide decent fantasy value the rest of the way given his offensive upside.
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Blues' Jakub Vrana: Nets first goal with St. Louis
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Vrana contributed a goal in the Blues' 4-2 win over San Jose on Thursday.
Vrana's marker early in the third period put St. Louis up 3-2. He has two goals and three points in seven contests this season. Vrana, who was acquired from Detroit on Friday, has a goal in two games since the trade. He logged 14:34 of ice time Thursday after playing 16:32 in his Blues' debut Tuesday versus Arizona.
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Blues' Jakub Vrana: Available Saturday
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Vrana will join the Blues on Friday night and will be available for Saturday's tilt in LA, Lou Korac of NHL.com reports.
The Blues picked up Vrana earlier in the day in a trade with Detroit. Vrana has picked up a goal and an assist in five games with the Red Wings this season -- he's spent most of the year in the player assistance program.
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Red Wings' Jakub Vrana: Recalled from AHL
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Vrana was recalled from AHL Grand Rapids on Thursday, Tom Gulitti of NHL.com reports.
Vrana played for the Red Wings on Tuesday, but many thought he was just in the lineup to see how many scouts from other teams would show up to watch him play. Vrana has a goal and an assist in three games this season -- he played in the first two games of the campaign and then missed extended time before appearing in Tuesday's tilt against Washington.
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Red Wings' Jakub Vrana: Sent back to AHL
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Vrana was reassigned to AHL Grand Rapids on Wednesday, per CapFriendly.
Vrana had two shots on goal and a plus-1 rating versus the Capitals on Tuesday, but he's back in the AHL a day later. It's unclear if this is a paper move, but it's expected the Red Wings will try to shop the 26-year-old ahead of the March 3 trade deadline.