Vranas Rights Get Traded

Team: 2021-22 Washington Capitals

Initial Creation Date: Apr. 9, 2021

Published: Apr. 9, 2021

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Vrana this offseason will be very interesting to watch. He's an RFA due for raise from a $3.35mil cap hit to upwards of $5mil.
Vrana was No. 13 overall in the 2014 draft, and the 25 year old speedy LW who has been good for 24 goals in 2018-19 and 25 in the 2019-20 season which was cut short, potentially robbing him of the chance to get 30 goals. This year, he has 10 goals and has found himself benched due to streaky play and lack of defensive skills. For whatever reason, he also has never been one to get a lot of ice time but was still able to produce with that limited ice time.

I think the Capitals are going to mess up with Vrana and turn him into Burakovsky 2.0 and by not utilizing him right, he's going to want a change of scenary. Vrana's offensive upside outweigh the bad parts of his game. He is excatly the type of explosive, young scoring talent this team needs, especially in the long-term once Ovechkin nears his retirement. But Ovechkin is also in a contract year and wants a raise to around $12.5mil. So, in a flat cap, Vrana could be an odd man out unless a bigger contract is moved (possibly Oshie in expansion draft, maybe if we unload Panik and/or Dillon).

For reference, Burakovsky was the Caps 2013 first round pick (23rd overall), never scored 20 goals in Washington (had 17 goals in his second season and then 4 straight 12 goal seasons, and due to injuries and coaches was out of the lineup a lot more than Vrana. Burakovsky's rights were traded to Colorado for 2020 2nd and 3rd picks and AHL forward Scott Kosmachuk.

I'll be honest, I don't know much about each team's prospects but feel free to say who you think your team would trade. If you think your team is interested, put down a potential trade in the comments

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