Capitals bring back 2018 Stanley Cup champion for professional tryout

The Washington Capitals are giving a former fan-favorite a second chance at rejoining the team.

Washington announced Thursday it had invited 2014 first-round pick Jakub Vrana to its September training camp on a professional tryout.

Vrana became a Stanley Cup Champion with Washington in 2018, scoring the opening goal in the series-clinching fifth game against the Vegas Golden Knights.

However, his time in the nation's capital was short lived.

Vrana only played one full season for Washington in the subsequent three years following the 2018 Cup win, eventually being traded to the Detroit Red Wings in 2021.

After spending parts of two seasons in Motown, Vrana enrolled in the NHL's Player Assistance Program for substance abuse issues and would be traded in 2023 to the St. Louis Blues.

The 28-year-old became a free agent after the end of the 2023-24 season and now appears to have a shot, albeit slim, at returning to the league with the team that drafted him.

Professional tryout agreements (PTOs) provide a player a short window to impress the coaching staff at training camp and potentially in preseason games, but the PTO-to-contract success rate is very low .

Nevertheless, Vrana will try his luck and hope that his skills will be enough to find his way back onto an NHL roster.