Well, this is not optimal. The Capitals have lost another star player for the time being.

Jakub Vrana was added to the NHL’s COVID-19 Unavailability list on Saturday. It’s unclear how long Jake will be out, but it could be a while. Players can be placed on the list for testing positive, showing symptoms, or having close contact with someone else who has the disease.

Vrana missed practice earlier in the day, which the Capitals termed a maintenance day.

Vrana joins Evgeny Kuznetsov and Ilya Samsonov who remain on the unavailability list. Kuznetsov and Samsonov have been quarantined away from the Capitals since January 20 – a span of 17 days.

Alex Ovechkin and Dmitry Orlov also missed 10 days (four and five games respectively) earlier this season after being in the same hotel room as Kuznetsov and Samsonov. We’d later learn Samsonov tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

“It sucks, obviously,” Ovechkin said after returning to the team. “No one wants to be suspended. No one wants to put yourself in that position. It’s over. You learn from it and move on.”

“When you don’t skate for 10 days, it’s always hard to come back,” Orlov added. “Especially if everybody keep playing. They in good shape.”

Vrana has been one of the Capitals’ best players this season, tallying 8 points (3g, 5a) in 11 games, but has not scored since January 22. The Capitals have lost their last two games in regulation after tallying a standings point in the first nine games of the season.

Here are all the NHL players currently on protocol.