Vancouver Canucks could be forced to trade top defender Filip Hronek

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Josh Tupper
June 14, 2024 (9:36 PM)

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If Patrik Allvin, general manager of the Vancouver Canucks, wishes to re-sign Filip Hronek, he has a lot of work ahead of him. However, if they are unable to reach a consensus, would a trade be feasible?

In the event that both parties are unable to reach a contract agreement, Satiar Shah stated on Tuesday's Canucks Central on Sportsnet radio that there is a "really good chance" that Patrik Allvin trades Filip Hronek at the draft later this month.

"I'm not going to be as forceful as saying he's guaranteed to be traded by the draft if he doesn't sign, but I'd say there's a really good chance that a trade happens at the draft if he doesn't sign an extension," Satiar Shah said on Canucks Central on Tuesday.

Given how successful Filip Hronek was playing alongside captain Quinn Hughes during his first full season with the Canucks, this would certainly be a worse case situation for both parties. Hronek had a decline in production in the second half of the 2023�24 season after ranking among the top ten defensemen in the first half.

The Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic native broke career records for points and assists this season with the Vancouver Canucks, but as previously noted, he wasn't as effective in the second half and didn't have a stellar playoff performance, managing only two points in 13 games. Hronek finished with 48 points (five goals, 43 assists), 38 penalty minutes, and a plus-33 rating in 81 regular season games.

In the event that the Canucks are unable to re-sign Filip Hronek, they will need to make sure that the player they acquire in a trade can immediately fit into their top-four and log significant playing time. If neither Brady Skjei nor Brandon Montour become unrestricted free agents on July 1st, then another choice would be to go out into the free agent market and sign one of them.

Source: Blade of Steel
Canucks may reportedly trade Filip Hronek if contract not signed by draft