The Washington Capitals had a special guest at Capital One Arena for their game against the Buffalo Sabres.<\/p>\n
Popular former Capital Jakub Vrana was spotted by season ticket holder Chris Schamus in the lower concourse. Vrana, wearing a white hoodie and black hat, chatted with Chris and took a photo before leaving for his seats.<\/p>\n
\u201cVrana just happened to be standing outside our section with, I believe, his girlfriend and another friend,\u201d Chris told RMNB. \u201cJust happened to pass him and said hi. Obviously, easily recognizable as a long-time fan, but he really did look like an average guy tonight!<\/p>\n
\u201cHe showed us his DC tattoo on his wrist and told us how grateful he is for this city and everything it brought him. He was incredibly genuine and was happy to take the picture with me. Took the time to talk to us \u2013 it was a great moment for sure. We, of course, thanked him for the Cup and everything he did for this organization.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vrana spent the entire 2025-26 season with Link\u00f6ping HC of the Swedish Hockey League, recording 28 points (12g, 16a) in 46 games. Link\u00f6ping missed the playoffs after finishing the regular season with a 17-26-4-5 record \u2014 11th best of 14 teams. Vrana has been on summer break since March 14, 2026, when Link\u00f6ping played their final game of the campaign \u2014 a 3-2 overtime victory over \u00d6rebro HK.<\/p>\n
The season in Sweden marked Vrana\u2019s first overseas since being drafted by the Capitals in the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft. <\/p>\n
Vrana began his NHL career with the Caps, playing five seasons with the NHL team from 2016 through 2021. The Czech winger had two 20-plus-goal years during that time, posting 157 points (76g, 81a) in 284 games overall. <\/p>\n
Vrana was also a core part of the Capitals\u2019 2018 Stanley Cup championship team, with his biggest moment coming in the Capitals\u2019 championship-winning game. Vrana scored the opening goal of Game 5, beating Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury on a breakaway.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Vrana\u2019s championship celebrations became the stuff of legend<\/a>, getting the Stanley Cup and a Capitals design tattooed on his left wrist.<\/a><\/p>\n Vrana moved on from Washington in 2021 as part of a trade with the Detroit Red Wings that brought Anthony Mantha to DC. Three years later, as his NHL career began to stall out, Vrana signed a PTO with the Capitals ahead of the 2024-25 season and made the team out of training camp. Vrana posted 11 points (7g, 4a) in 26 games before being put on waivers and getting claimed by the Nashville Predators in early March<\/a>. <\/p>\n Vrana opted to return overseas in August officially signing a two-year contract with his former SHL club<\/a>.<\/p>\n