Red Wings acquire Vrana, Panik, 1st and 2nd Rounders from Caps for Mantha

DETROIT --The Detroit Red Wings today acquired right wing Richard Panik, left wing Jakub Vrana, a first-round pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft and a second-round pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft from the Washington Capitals in exchange for right wing Anthony Mantha.

Panik, 30, has skated in 36 games with Washington this season, notching nine points (3-6-9) and 16 penalty minutes. He played his 500th NHL game on March 20 vs. NY Rangers and has appeared in 505 NHL games since 2012-13 with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks, Arizona Coyotes and Washington, logging 190 points (87-103-190), a plus-10 rating and 272 penalty minutes, while chipping in five points (1-4-5) and 18 penalty minutes in 20 NHL playoff games. The 6-foot-2, 203-pound winger has twice eclipsed 30 points in a season, including a career-best year with Chicago in 2016-17 when he racked up 44 points (22-22-44) in 82 games.
Originally drafted in the second round (52nd overall) of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft by the Lightning, Panik has played parts of five seasons (2009-10; 11-14; 15-16) in the American Hockey League with the Norfolk Admirals, Syracuse Crunch and Toronto Marlies, totaling 119 points (53-66-119), a plus-35 rating and 185 penalty minutes in 166 games. He added 20 points (14-6-20), a plus-seven rating and 82 penalty minutes in 34 AHL postseason games, winning a 2012 Calder Cup championship in Norfolk and being named to the 2013 AHL All-Star Game with Syracuse. Prior to turning professional, Panik skated two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, totaling 97 points (48-49-97) and 130 penalty minutes in 111 games with the Windsor Spitfires, Belleville Bulls and Guelph Storm from 2009-11. The Martin, Slovakia, native has played extensively for his country in international competition, including the 2014 Winter Olympics and 2014, 2015 and 2019 IIHF World Championships. Panik also briefly played professionally in the Czech Republic, picking up two points (1-1-2) in 21 games for HC Ocelari Trinec in the Czech ExtraLiga from 2007-09.
Vrana, 25, ranks among Capitals leaders this season with 11 goals (4th), 14 assists (T7th) and 25 points (T5th) in 39 games this season. The fifth-year NHLer has spent his entire career with Washington, notching 157 points (76-81-157), a plus-36 rating and 67 penalty minutes in 284 games, including a career-best 52 points (25-27-52) in 69 games during the 2019-20 campaign - marking his second-straight season with at least 24 goals. In his first full NHL season in 2017-18, Vrana helped Washington to a Stanley Cup championship, posting 27 points (13-14-27) in 73 regular-season contests and chipping in eight points (3-5-8) in 23 playoff games. Vrana was drafted by the Capitals in the first round (13th overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft - two picks prior to Detroit's selection of Dylan Larkin at 15th overall.
A native of Prague, Czech Republic, the 6-foot, 197-pound winger also skated in 88 games with the AHL's Hershey Bears from 2014-17, registering 75 points (35-40-75), a plus-21 rating and 48 penalty minutes in addition to 20 points (10-10-20), a plus-eight rating and eight penalty minutes in 38 playoff games. Vrana spent the previous four seasons developing in Sweden, where he debuted professionally with Linkoping in the Swedish Hockey League in 2012-13 and logged 27 points (14-13-27) and 14 penalty minutes in 73 games until 2014-15. He also racked up 58 points (35-23-58), a plus-11 rating and 77 penalty minutes in 59 games in the top Swedish junior circuit. Vrana is a regular on the Czech Republic national junior teams, recording 20 points (14-6-20) in 18 games at three-straight IIHF World Under-18 Championships (2012-14) and six points (3-3-6) in 16 games at three-consecutive IIHF World Junior Championships (2013-15). He also debuted for the men's national team at the 2019 IIHF World Championship, where he was a teammate of current Red Wings defenseman Filip Hronek, posting five points (4-1-5) in nine games.
The Red Wings have completed four trades since Friday, adding five more draft picks over the next two seasons for a total of 22 selections between the 2021 and 2022 NHL Entry Drafts. For this summer's 2021 NHL Entry Draft, Detroit has its own pick in the first six rounds, in addition to two additional second-round choices (Edmonton and NY Rangers) and one extra pick in the first (Washington), third (Vegas), fourth (Tampa Bay) and fifth (Ottawa) rounds. In the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, the Red Wings have their own picks in all seven rounds plus an extra second-round pick (Washington) and two additional selections in the fourth round (Colorado and Vegas). Over the last three Entry Drafts (2018-20), the Red Wings have drafted an NHL-high 33 players - including 18 selected in the first three rounds (four firsts, eight seconds and six thirds), and they currently own 11 top-three round selections between the next two Drafts.