Jakub Vrana had never been sidelined for more than three months in his NHL career before he underwent shoulder surgery last October. Five months later, he's set to make his season debut for the Red Wings Tuesday night against the Coyotes.
"I haven't played a game in almost a year," Vrana said Tuesday morning. "I’m super excited, that’s all I can say. Just huge excitement to join the team again and get back at it tonight."
The more the 26-year-old talked, the wider he smiled. He couldn't help it. The loneliest stretch of his hockey life is coming to an end. For the first 56 games of this season, Vrana was forced to watch from the press box at Little Caesars Arena, or worse, from home. He was isolated from his teammates, who skated and trained on a different schedule, lost without the thrill that makes him smile widest: scoring goals.
"The mental side is the hardest," Vrana said. "Physically I feel great, mentally I feel great now, but watching a lot of hockey games and not being able to play is probably the hardest part."
Vrana was supposed to play a big role this season for the Wings. He provided an immediate spark after arriving late last season via the Anthony Mantha trade, scoring eight goals in 11 games. Jeff Blashill viewed him as a potential centerpiece of Detroit's rebuild. He still can be. Vrana has the tools to be a 30-goal scorer in the NHL and perhaps a co-star on Dylan Larkin's wing for the next several years. The sharpest among them is his shot.
Over the two seasons prior to this one, Vrana ranked fourth in the NHL in five-on-five goals, tied with David Pastrnak and one spot (and one goal) behind Connor McDavid. And he ranked second to only Auston Matthews in five-on-five goals per 60 minutes. Then he made such a good first impression in Detroit that Steve Yzerman signed him to a three-year, $15.75 million deal last summer. Finally, Vrana gets to back it up.
"I’m a little bit nervous that I haven’t played in a while, but at the same time, I want to feel like it’s another game for me," he said. "I just want to come in and enjoy the game of hockey, and that’s what I’m going to do tonight."
Vrana skated on Detroit's second line in practice Tuesday morning with Tyler Bertuzzi and center Pius Suter. Blashill said he might juggle the lines Tuesday as he searches for the "best fit for the short term and for the rest of the year." He tempered initial expectations for Vrana, noting "it's really difficult to jump right in" so late in the season. He cautioned: "It's a huge unknown of where Jakub's at."
If he's close to where he was last season, the Wings are about to get a boost. And while it will likely take him time to find his game at even strength, to make plays and generate chances, Vrana can make an instant impact on a power play that ranks 27th in the NHL. He'll slot in, for now, on Detroit's second unit.
"Goal scorers are unique -- they can score on one shot. That’s one thing that Jakub can do," Blashill said. "And when you have that, it might be a bad power play but you still score just because he can shoot it in the net. We’ve had a decent amount of chances on that second unit, we just haven’t scored. He’s a guy that with similar chances, the puck probably goes in a little bit more.
"He’s a really, really elite shooter, one of the best ones I’ve seen at our level. Hopefully that can help us."
Really, that's all that Blashill, Yzerman and the Red Wings are asking Vrana to do: to help. The team has taken another step forward this season thanks to the arrival of more young talent. Vrana doesn't have to light the league on fire to push Detroit further. He just needs to light the lamp like he knows how, like he always has in the NHL, only in a bigger role with more responsibility -- and thus with more chances to score.
"I don’t think he has any expectations that he has to be the savior," Blashill said. "I just think he wants to play and be a part of it. The savior for us will be our hockey team. It will never be an individual player that’s going to push us to a better spot. It's going to be our team in totality, and he can be a piece of that and a unique piece in the sense that he can score.
"But he’s just gotta come in and have fun playing hockey. He’s been out a long time. I think it's way harder than people realize when you’re in that long-term injury situation where it gets super lonely and you’re driven by what you do and you don't have the chance to do it. So hopefully he can come in, have some fun, play the right way and help us be a better team."
Vrana smiled often in year one with the Red Wings, and wider than ever when he exploded for four goals against the Stars in his fourth game with his new team. Everything was going right. Then 15 minutes after he stepped onto the ice in Traverse City to start year two, he was headed for shoulder surgery. His smile faded, which is why, five months later, he can hardly suppress it.
"When you’re a long time away from your game, from something you love, you start having little doubts in your mind," Vrana said. "You gotta stay strong mentally and believe that you can come back and hold your confidence where it is. I feel great today and I’m playing tonight."