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The bad luck of Lucas Raymond may be a bit of bridge mending for Jakub Vrana. The speedy winger has said in no uncertain terms that he’d like to stay with Detroit. For the past few months, it didn’t feel that there was a mutual feeling coming from the office. Things can change.
Before writing this I listened to the better part of a Pete Best interview from 1965. (I was born in 1976 so this predates me a bit). Pete Best was the Beatles original drummer, but behind the scenes Ringo was being pushed by management and others. As much grief as Ringo gets (and there’s plenty) B.B. King used him in the studio and loved him. That’s good enough for me.
I have 2 good hockey friends for those internal “crazy scenarios… and a couple of good sources who have never steered me wrong. In the case of Vrana, I’ve sat on the “chatter… because Yzerman is so hard to read. For any who remember Radulov coming back to play for Nashville, there were comparisons to the two when it came to overall team “health… and “culture….
Regardless, Vrana gets what we all hope for. A second chance (or third, or fourth, etc). One of my hockey buddies asked if he thought Detroit could end up leaving Edmonton with one or more fewer players. The two names we could come up with were Bertuzzi and Vrana. Bert will go to the corners and give up his body to get a pass to his center. He’s also added wrist protection to his arm guards (finally). Similar to Ovi, they’re sown on plastic squares that help with the “gap… in modern gloves.
Vrana is fast. I don’t know how any wingers can hang with McDavid. In truth, I’m not sure they can which is why he plays on multiple lines if they go with 7 D men. McDavid has the work ethic of Crosby. I know that’s sacrilegious ground, but Crosby picks apart his own video and trains for what he sees as gaps or areas that aren’t as strong. McDavid does not seem to be satisfied, and always wants to step it up (how much further can you go? The team has to chip in for that big shiny cup).
We know Holland, and we know him well. He loves the familiar, which makes me wonder if he would ask about Bertuzzi and Hronek. Vrana’s skill set makes a ton more sense, but we’ve seen odd scenarios before.
My hope is that Vrana can find a way to grab some staying power, even if not with the Wings. A pro athlete’s career can end in an instant and I’ve heard “it was like the whole league forgot about me… from a player that played overseas when not finding a deal to his liking and never made it back.
In your mind, IF someone finds their luggage in the home team’s locker room, who do you think would be left behind. Bertuzzi’s camp revealed that no talks have been held since around training camp. Yzerman may have the feeling that Bert has a shelf life. I don’t know. I just know he goes out there like a bull dog and I love when he’s feeling it.
Give me your trade scenarios and who you think may find themselves in sunny, warm western Canada where the temp can actually get above zero sometimes. All joking aside, give me your thoughts.