The Detroit Red Wings avoided arbitration with winger Jakub Vrana on Tuesday by signing the restricted free agent to a three-year deal worth $5.25 million per season.
The Red Wings acquired Vrana in April from the Washington Capitals — along with forward Richard Panik, a 2021 first-round draft pick and a 2022 second-round pick — in exchange for forward Anthony Mantha.
Vrana, 25, rewarded Detroit almost immediately by posting a four-goal game on April 22, his fourth game for the franchise. He finished the season with 19 goals and 17 assists in 50 games split between Washington and Detroit.
A native of the Czech Republic, Vrana was the 13th overall draft choice in 2014 and spent his first four-plus NHL campaigns with the Capitals, winning the Stanley Cup with them in 2018. In 295 career games, Vrana has tallied 168 points (84 goals, 84 assists) with 21 game-winning goals.
Vrana figures to be part of a larger rebuilding project for the Red Wings, an Original Six franchise with plenty of history that has not reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2016.
–Field Level Media