“Feel Bad for the Guy”: Massive Snowstorm Prevents NHL Forward From Making His Blues Debut, as Fans Rue Missed Opportunity

In the middle of the many deals that have occurred at the last minute in the NHL, forward Jakub Vrana was sent from the Detroit Red Wings to the St. Louis Blues. In a surprising move, the Red Wings traded Vrana on Friday, hours before the trade deadline. While Vrana hasn’t seen much ice time with the Red Wings, his numbers indicate he is a capable competitor. The St. Louis Blues are presently 11th in the Western Conference and fighting for a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs. This requires the decision of their management to bring goalscoring forward. Despite the trade’s success and the forward’s prompt arrival at the airport, fate had other plans.

The St. Louis Blues announced the devastating news on their official website, which was linked through their Facebook page. Bad weather delayed Jakub Vrana’s flight to Los Angeles on Saturday, when the Blues were set to play the Los Angeles Kings. The fans were also disappointed since they had hoped to see their new NHL player in attendance.

What actually happened that halted his journey?

Soon after Jakub Vrana was moved to the Blues early on Friday morning, he got his hockey equipment and headed to the airport. It was his intention to be in Los Angeles on Friday to meet his new teammates and play his first game with the Blues on Saturday against the Kings. But the reality turned out to be different. There was a major snowstorm in Detroit just as Vrana was scheduled to take off at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time. Vrana was still permitted on board, but the flight was canceled almost three hours later. Even before the cancellation was announced, the NHL player had a gut feeling that his trip would be canceled due to the severe weather.

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Since the airport was inaccessible to vehicles the whole crowd, including Vrana, had to spend the night at the gate as a consequence. The following day, he waited for the flight, and the airline finally got him on one that left Detroit at 8 in the morning; but, due to the 10 inches of snow that had fallen in certain areas, the aircraft was also delayed for more than five hours. By 1:30 p.m. Eastern time, he finally boarded and left for his new destination.

NHL fans united after this incident

Fans of the Blues were understandably dismayed when their team’s new NHL superstar didn’t make his debut until Sunday. When they found out why, though, they were even more devastated. Here are some comments to prove it.

This fan did feel bad for the NHL star however, they know what’s in store for the star in his coming days, saying, “I feel bad for the guy. The travel was the easy part. Now he has to play games for the 2023 Blues. That’s awful.” Despite fans who are welcoming Jakub Vrana, a Blues fan left a cheeky comment that reads, “Welcome sorry you had a miserable deal getting here. Good luck”

It looks like a Blues fan empathizes, saying, “Tell me about it. I live up here and it sucked Friday lol”. An excited fan has left a comment, saying, “Light the lamp Jakub Vrána! Can’t wait to see you play.” What do you think of the future of the former Red Wings star, with the St. Louis Blues?