The Detroit Red Wings pulled off one of the NHL Trade Deadline’s more notable moves last season, acquiring forwards Jakub Vrana and Richard Panik along with a 1st and 2nd round draft pick in exchange for underachieving forward Anthony Mantha.
And though it was a small sample size, Vrana and the Red Wings appear to be a match made in heaven.
Vrana scored eight goals (four in one game against the Dallas Stars) and three assists in the 11 games he appeared in with his new club, and showed that he can be the kind of impactful player that helped the Capitals to their first Stanley Cup in franchise history in 2018. And now, all that remains is for the two sides to hammer out a deal.
Vrana was one of a handful of players who filed for salary arbitration, and we have an idea of what his next deal could look like. Per aggregate statistical website Evolving Hockey, they project Vrana to receive a four-year deal with a cap hit of $5,553,051:
Per @CapFriendly, there have only been 8 contracts signed since yesterday. 164 of the 393 free agent skaters that we projected contracts for remain unsigned.
Here are the top remaining free agents with the highest projected cap hit per our model. 9/10 are RFAs. pic.twitter.com/3R7WdLMSki
— Evolving-Hockey (@EvolvingHockey) August 2, 2021
Should the Red Wings and Vrana not be able to reach a deal, an arbiter will make a decision regarding his next contract length and cap hit. The Red Wings can either accept the arbiter’s decision, or reject it.
