Former NHLer Jakub Vrana signs in Sweden

A former NHLer who had a high ceiling is returning overseas.

On Friday, Linköping HC of the Swedish Hockey League announced that the team has signed forward Jakub Vrana to a two-year contract.

This won’t be the first time Vrana will play for one of the more prominent clubs in Sweden. Before coming to North America, the Prague, Czechia native worked his way through the club’s ranks from the Under-16 ranks to the professional ranks. Vrana played parts of three seasons in the top division in Sweden before officially joining the Washington Capitals’ ranks at the end of the 2014-15 season.

Vrana was taken by the Capitals in the first round, 13th overall, of the 2014 NHL Draft. It wouldn’t be until the 2016-17 season that he broke through to the NHL roster. He was part of the Washington team that captured the franchise’s first Stanley Cup in 2018, with him scoring eight points in 23 games.

Vrana started to establish himself as a solid scorer over the next two seasons. Following a 2018-19 season where he notched 47 points in 82 games, he posted career highs in goals (25), assists (27) and points (52) during the COVID-shortened 2019-20 campaign.

Vrana was on the move the following season, as he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings for Anthony Mantha at the trade deadline. It looked like Vrana was going to add a necessary scoring punch to a rebuilding Wings team. However, injuries and off-ice issues led to him falling out of favor, leading to a trade in March 2023 to the St. Louis Blues.

Vrana spent parts of the next couple of seasons with the Blues and their American Hockey League affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. He returned to Washington prior to last season on a one-year contract, but was claimed off waivers by the Nashville Predators in March.

Across nine NHL seasons, Vrana appeared in 406 games, scoring 119 goals and 104 assists for 223 points. He also registered eight points in 38 playoff games, all with the Capitals.