The Detroit Red Wings sent shockwaves throughout the NHL with the decision to place Jakub Vrana on waivers, and the aftermath of the news is still being felt.
After clearing waivers and being assigned to Grand Rapids, Thursday’s edition of Daily Faceoff Live, NHL insider Frank Seravalli shed some light on the situation.
“I’ll tell you this, it’s intrigued a lot of teams, and I spoke to one team yesterday who was internally meeting about possibly trading for Vrana. The suggestion I made was it sort of feels like that relationship is indeed broken; why not offer up a deal that involves Detroit retaining $1.8 or $1.9 million or whatever the number is that equates to a buyout for Vrana? Maybe that’s something that would be palatable for Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings if they could get something back in return for him.”
TSN’s ‘Insider Trading’ segment on January 3rd also discussed Vrana’s situation. NHL insider Chris Johnston reported that a source close to Vrana believed he is NHL-ready.
“He is fit and ready to play now. He is ready to resume his career and get going.”
Vrana has one year remaining on his contract at the end of this season, with an average annual value of $5.25 million. While his AHL assignment could just be for the purpose of getting back up to game speed, the Red Wings still need to make room for the returns of Tyler Bertuzzi and Filip Zadina on top of a potential spot for Vrana. The Red Wings sent forward Elmer Soderblom down to the AHL Sunday afternoon, who, at the time of the Vrana decision, was in the lineup and in the midst of a six-game point streak.
Given Vrana’s current value and the amount of money he is owed, it is hard to imagine what a potential trade would look like. When Vrana is healthy, he is one of the NHL’s best goal scorers at even strength per 60 minutes, which is hard for an offense-starved team such as Detroit to give away. Vrana has appeared in six games with the Griffins and has only one assist. With the trade deadline less than two months away, Vrana could be a piece to watch come March 3rd.
