It appears that the St. Louis Blues are frustrated with forward Jakub Vrána after placing him on waivers on Tuesday, Dec. 12. They acquired him at the trade deadline last season from the Detroit Red Wings. In that trade, the Red Wings retained 50 percent of Vrána’s salary cap hit for a return of a 2025 seventh-round pick and minor league forward Dylan McLaughlin.
Related: Blues Relieve Berube, Appoint Bannister Interim Coach
Overall, the Blues gave up very little for a boom-or-bust player, which is not a bad move to make whether it works or not. While out of contention last season, the Blues needed to make moves like this to acquire experienced forward depth looking for a change of scenery and they did the same with Kasperi Kapanen.
Vrána Was Solid Last Season With the Blues
In 20 games after the trade last season, Vrána played fairly well for the Blues. Of course, there was nothing to lose with the Blues almost entirely out of the playoff conversation. Even with that being known, he still put up quality numbers with 10 goals in 20 games and he had 14 points total, including eight on the power play. The average ice time for him in those 20 games last season was over 15 minutes, which is the highest average of his career.
He looked far more comfortable and got much more opportunity to produce than he did in 42 career games in Detroit. There were off-ice issues for him in his time with the Red Wings, but he seemed to have shaken that off with the way he played for the Blues last season. Of course, things changed once the 2023-24 season began.
Vrána’s Performance Took a Serious Dip This Season
Vrána appeared in 19 games for the Blues this season before being waived. He was healthy scratched for several games on different occasions this season, which was a clear sign that things weren’t working for him or the club. He had just two goals and six points before general manager Doug Armstrong made the call to give up on the experiment for now. His effort was questioned several times by then-head coach Craig Berube, which was always a sign that him being waived or traded at some point was inevitable.
There is an argument to be made for how the Blues used Vrána this season with a lack of power play time and playing him in the bottom six, but I can’t fully agree with that. At some point, playing in the top six has to be earned and he wasn’t playing hard enough to earn it. Both parties should move on, and that became evident with how many games he was spending in the press box this season. However, he is not gone just yet
Vrána Clears Waivers and Heads to Springfield
It’s not a major surprise that Vrána cleared waivers. As Armstrong said in his press conference upon firing Berube, Vrána will now report to the American Hockey League (AHL) and play with the Springfield Thunderbirds. I think it says a lot about what he is as a player right now with the other 31 teams in the league passing up on claiming him. Hopefully, the Thunderbirds can put him on the top line and allow him to find his game. I would not be surprised if Vrána is back with the Blues within the next couple of months, but I also would not be surprised if he is never back with them either.
Either way, I think the Blues made the right call to move on from Vrána for the time being. It wasn’t working and even with Berube out the door, they can still give opportunities to other players that fit better in the bottom six. It’s unfortunate that it hasn’t worked out so far, but there are other options moving forward.
