When the Capitals tore their team apart this past off-season in a misguided attempt to sign T.J Oshie and massively overpay Kuznetsov, they lost a lot of NHL talent.
So much so that I all but guaranteed they wouldn't make the Playoffs. I still don't think they will - Braden Holtby has propped them up by playing out of his mind (likely been the best goalie in the NHL so far this season) and they're still only 9th in the West.
So even with the best goalie in the NHL they aren't currently in a Playoff position, and there is no guarantee he can keep this up. In fact, three teams who are much better (Carolina, Montreal and Boston are behind them).
Vrana represented hope that there'd be at least one. But, given top line minutes and superstar linemates he's been a crushing disappointment - results wise at least. He has four goals and seven points in 19 games. But most of those points came early - he had five points in his first six games, meaning he has two points since.
Basically, he's not doing much. However, an on-ice shooting percentage of just 7% and a Corsi of 53% suggests he's actually not playing too badly, just not getting good results.
The problem though, is that he was their whole plan. The guy who could help them overcome the fact they're dressing Stephenson and Pelly-Smith. On Thursday they made him a healthy scratch. And frankly, that's idiotic. I don't need another lecture on the importance of results, but this is a player who can't buy a point, despite generally playing well.
Scratching him and moving him to the third line when you have about six AHL players on the roster is not only stupid, it shows you're out of ideas. I would be surprised at this point if Trotz finishes the season as the Capitals coach. Although, given the astoundingly bad performance of their GM, I don't know why he'd be allowed to fire or hire a new coach in the first place.
This shows two things 1) the organization values results too much (as if the Oshie trade didn't prove that conclusively) and 2) their plan to replace the players they lost was thin to start with.
Vrana may get back in for tonight's game against the Wild. The problem is that their other best young player, Christian Djoos, is out with a suspected concussion.
This doesn't bode well when you're going up against a team who's won four straight.