Red Wings Place Jakub Vrana on Waivers

On Tuesday afternoon, the Detroit Red Wings shocked the hockey world by placing forward Jakub Vrana on waivers.

This news comes as Vrana is in the midst of a two-week conditioning stint with the Grand Rapids Griffins. The move is puzzling as Vrana has been one of Detroit’s most productive forwards the past two seasons when he has been in the lineup, and he was on pace to return next week. The Red Wings needed to create one roster spot this week as Robby Fabbri is returning to the lineup but is currently carrying three goalies in Ville Husso, Magnus Hellberg, and Alex Nedeljkovic.

Vrana had only played in two games this season, scoring once and adding an assist before he joined the NHL/NHLPA’s Player Assistance Program.

Vrana has one year remaining on his contract at the end of this season, with an average annual value of $5.25 million. There seems to be more to this than just waiving a talented forward. The Red Wings just extended his conditioning stint for another week and could simply just be looking for flexibility while Vrana finds his game. With the amount of money he is owed, it would be hard for most NHL teams to fit Vrana on their roster this time of year without moving money out. It is unlikely that Steve Yzerman didn’t gauge the market before placing Vrana on waivers and seemingly feels comfortable enough to make this move.


Discover more from Inside The Rink

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

One thought on “Red Wings Place Jakub Vrana on Waivers”

Leave a Reply

AHL: Eric Dubois Heads Overseas to ERC Ingolstadt

The Manitoba Moose announced on Friday, May 30th, that Eric Dubois has joined the DEL club ERC Ingolstadt as an assistant coach. Dubois, 55, served as an assistant coach with the Manitoba Moose for nine seasons when he joined the club back in 2016. The Moose posted a 292-264-34-23 record in Dubois’ nine seasons as […]

Read More
Kashawn Aitcheson physicality

2025 NHL Draft Prospect Profile: Kashawn Aitcheson

Kashawn Aitcheson is a 6-foot-1, 198-pound left-shot defenceman from Toronto, Ontario. Born on September 21st, 2006, Aitcheson narrowly missed the cutoff for the 2024 NHL Draft, and is one of the oldest prospects in the 2025 class. Aitcheson has spent the last three seasons with the Barrie Colts of the OHL. He was also selected […]

Read More
Stuart Skinner

Opinion: Oilers’ Stuart Skinner Showing Some Steadiness Between the Pipes

When it comes to Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner, one never knows what they are going to get. On one hand, one might see a version of Skinner, 26, who stands tall, comes up with big saves, does not get out of position, and does not allow soft goals. When this version of Skinner is […]

Read More