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Filip Hronek

Snapshots: Hronek, Mikheyev, Okhotyuk, Abramov

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Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek had a career year this season, notching 48 points in 81 games while logging over 23 minutes a night in his first full year in Vancouver.  The timing couldn’t have been much better as he’s eligible for restricted free agency with arbitration eligibility this summer.  While a long-term deal has been expected for a while, Thomas Drance and Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic report (subscription link) that there has been very little progress made on a new agreement nor have their been any sort of substantive negotiations in several months.  Hronek is owed a $5.28MM qualifying offer next month, one they’ll have no issue tendering as a long-term agreement is likely to run past the $7MM mark.

More from around the hockey world:

  • Still with Vancouver, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggested in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that the Canucks might consider buying out Ilya Mikheyev this offseason. The 29-year-old wound up with a respectable 11 goals and 20 assists in 78 games this season but his production cratered as the year went on as he managed just a single tally and nine helpers in his final 45 regular season and was held off the scoresheet altogether in 11 playoff contests.  Mikheyev has two years left on his deal that carries a $4.75MM AAV; a buyout would carry a cap charge of $1.15MM next season, $2.15MM in 2025-26, and $1.55MM for two more years after that.
  • A pair of young NHL players were traded recently in the KHL. CSKA announced that they traded the rights to Blues prospect Mikhail Abramov in exchange for Flames blueliner Nikita Okhotyuk.  Abramov picked up 14 goals and 22 assists in 59 games with AHL Springfield this season and has yet to play at the NHL level.  Okhotyuk, meanwhile, spent most of the season in San Jose before being acquired late in the season by Calgary; he notched nine points, 80 blocks, and 147 hits in 52 NHL games.  Both players are set to become restricted free agents in July.

Snapshots: Hronek, Hurricanes, Wood

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The Canucks have one of the better defensemen on expiring deals this summer in top-pairing threat Filip Hronek. He’s broken out alongside Quinn Hughes in his first full season in Vancouver and is under team control this summer as an RFA with arbitration rights. Speaking on the Sekeres and Price podcast today, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli thinks that Hronek is in a position to land an AAV in the $8MM range this summer after Vegas blue-liner Noah Hanifin signed a max-term extension with a $7.35MM cap hit last week. With the far superior Hughes locked in at $7.85MM through 2027, however, it’s nearly unfathomable that Canucks GM Patrik Allvin would dole out that kind of cash. If the 26-year-old’s camp holds firm in that ask, a one-year deal awarded via arbitration to walk him to unrestricted free agency in 2025 could be the outcome if Vancouver doesn’t trade his signing rights.

Other tidbits from around the league this afternoon:

  • A flurry of lineup changes are taking place for the Hurricanes in today’s match against the Blackhawks, the team’s Walt Ruff relays. Captain Jordan Staal and defensemen Jalen Chatfield and Brett Pesce will return after missing Friday’s win over the Blues with undisclosed injuries. Brady Skjei will exit the lineup for load management down the stretch, while winger Teuvo Teräväinen remains out for a second straight game with an undisclosed injury. It’s the second-to-last game on Carolina’s schedule, and a regulation loss today locks them into second place in the Metropolitan Division.
  • The Avalanche have the services of depth winger Miles Wood back in the lineup against the Golden Knights today, per the game’s roster report. The 28-year-old had missed three games with a lower-body injury. Wood, who signed a six-year, $15MM contract to join the Avs last offseason, returns in a third-line role with Ross Colton and trade-deadline pickup Brandon Duhaime. He has nine goals and 24 points in 72 games on the year.

West Notes: Hronek, Vilardi, Tourigny, Bardakov

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In an appearance on Sekeres and Price (video link), Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli discusses the importance of the Canucks avoiding salary arbitration with pending RFA defenseman Filip Hronek.  The team may view Quinn Hughes’ $7.85MM cap hit as a ceiling they don’t want to surpass when it comes to spending on their defensemen.  However, Hronek has already set career highs in assists (40) and points (45) this season while logging over 23 minutes a night.  Arbitration-eligible for the first time this summer, the two sides going to a hearing could push Hronek’s award past the $7MM mark.  Accordingly, settling before it gets to that point should be high on Vancouver’s priority list this offseason.

More from the Western Conference:

  • Jets center Gabriel Vilardi returned to practice today as he works his way back from an enlarged spleen. Murat Ates of The Athletic notes (Twitter link) that the 24-year-old is expected to skate with the team every day this week as he works on getting back into playing condition.  When healthy, Vilardi has been a key producer for Winnipeg this season, notching 16 goals and 14 assists in just 38 games so far.
  • Coyotes head coach Andre Tourigny is expected to serve as Canada’s head coach at the upcoming World Championship although it’s not yet official, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports. Tourigny served in that role last year, helping lead Canada to the gold medal.
  • Avalanche prospect Zakhar Bardakov intends to sign with Colorado and play in North America after next season, his agent Shumi Babaev told Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now. The 23-year-old was picked up from New Jersey in the Kurtis MacDermid trade and had a dozen points in 51 games with SKA St. Petersburg this season.  Bardakov’s KHL deal is expiring and Babaev noted that Bardakov intends to play next season in that league; it remains to be seen if that will be with SKA or another organization.

Evening Notes: Hronek, Eriksson Ek, St. Ivany

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There’s always something to look forward to for the Vancouver Canucks, who now have full focus on extending defenseman Filip Hronek after extending star forward Elias Pettersson. This deal should cost the Canucks a pretty penny as well, with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggesting in an appearance on CHEK’s Donnie and Dhali (video link) a cap hit within the range of $7.5MM.

Hronek has become a crucial piece of Vancouver’s lineup since joining the team at last season’s Trade Deadline. He’s not only boosted his own impact but made the players around him better as well – serving as the perfect partner for star defenseman Quinn Hughes. Both Hronek and Hughes have recorded a career-high in scoring this season, with 45 and 77 points respectively. The duo is playing upwards of 24 minutes each game – representing the only Canucks pairing averaging more than even 19 minutes of ice time. Hughes is signed through the 2026-27 season, carrying a $7.85MM cap hit. Vancouver will lock up their top defensive pairing for the future if – and hopefully when – they’re able to sign Hronek to a comparable deal.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Minnesota Wild centerman Joel Eriksson Ek won’t join the team for the final two games of their California road trip, getting held back by a lower-body injury per The Athletic’s Michael Russo (Twitter Link). Russo adds that Minnesota is holding Eriksson Ek out a bit longer, in an effort to be cautious with his injury. The 27-year-old centerman has missed Minnesota’s last two games. His next chance to return will be on March 23rd when the Wild host the St. Louis Blues. Eriksson Ek’s absence should continue to benefit Marco Rossi’s ice time, after the Austrian played a career-high 20:44 in the team’s last game.
  • Jack St. Ivany has been reassigned to the AHL, jumping back-and-forth between the NHL and AHL lineups on a few call-ups since Sunday. (Twitter Link). St. Ivany will hope to receive his NHL debut on his next recall, after serving as an NHL healthy scratch for the first time on Saturday. St. Ivany, 24, has four goals, 12 points, and 30 penalty minutes in 52 AHL games this season – though he hasn’t scored a point since a two-goal performance on February 14th.

West Notes: Hronek, Johansson, Firstov, Blackhawks

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With Elias Pettersson’s extension now in place, Canucks GM Patrik Allvin can shift his focus to signing his other key pending restricted free agent.  Speaking with Sportsnet 650 (audio link), Allvin confirmed that the team has offered an extension to defenseman Filip Hronek.  His first full season with Vancouver has been a successful one as the 26-year-old has already set career highs in assists (40) and points (45) while averaging a little under 24 minutes a night.  Hronek is owed a qualifying offer of $5.28MM but stands to earn considerably more than that on a long-term deal this summer with arbitration rights.  Hronek is only one year away from UFA eligibility so if these discussions don’t go well, he could simply elect to file for arbitration, take the award, and look to test the open market in 2025.

More from the West:

  • Wild forward Marcus Johansson skated at practice today as he works his way back from a lower-body injury, relays John Shipley of the Pioneer Press. The issue has held him out of the lineup for the last three games and it’s not yet known if that stretch will be extended as head coach John Hynes was unsure of Johansson’s availability for tomorrow.  The 33-year-old has 27 points in 61 games so far this season.
  • Still with the Wild, The Athletic’s Michael Russo notes (Twitter link) that prospect Vladislav Firstov’s KHL season has ended, suggesting that he could now return to AHL Iowa. The 22-year-old is in the second season of his entry-level deal but has spent pretty much that entire time at the KHL level with Torpedo.  This season, Firstov had 17 goals and 18 assists in 67 regular season games and while he’s unlikely to join Minnesota (unlike Marat Khusnutdinov whose NHL debut is likely to come this week), he could benefit from simply getting in some AHL contests.
  • The Blackhawks were quiet at the trade deadline as expected. However, they weren’t involved as a third-party salary retainer, a move that caught some by surprise.  GM Kyle Davidson told reporters including Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times that while he received some inquiries from teams about playing that role, he felt the late-round picks on the table weren’t worth losing the flexibility.  While those slots likely would have reset in July when free agency came around, the Blackhawks now will have the ability to retain on a pair of trades at draft time if that helps to bring in an extra asset or two.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Detroit Red Wings

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will be taking a look at what teams are thankful for in 2023-24. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Detroit Red Wings.

Who are the Red Wings thankful for?

Dylan Larkin.

Larkin had the opportunity to leave the Red Wings this past summer but opted to remain with the franchise signing a massive eight-year extension. Few people would’ve faulted the 27-year-old for bolting the only organization he’s ever known as his tenure in the Motor City hasn’t exactly been full of memorable moments. The Red Wings haven’t made the playoffs since Larkin’s rookie season back in 2015-16 and haven’t finished better than fifth in their division since that five-game ouster at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Larkin arrived in Detroit at a time when it seemed possible that the Red Wings could avoid a long rebuild and retool on the fly as they had a pile of emerging young talent to play alongside Larkin. However, many of Detroit’s top young players at the time failed to live up to expectations leading the Red Wings into a full-on rebuild that is in its eighth year.

Larkin has done his part through some very lean years in Detroit as he has led the team in scoring in five of the past seven seasons. As well as being their on-ice leader he has also become a leader in the dressing room when he was named their captain in January of 2021. Larkin has been a point-a-game player in each of the past three seasons and has done so without a ton of offensive help from his teammates.

Detroit should be thankful for Larkin, and thankful that the Waterford, Michigan native grew up in the metro Detroit area, which was probably a very big factor when it came to his decision to sign a long-term extension.

What are the Red Wings thankful for?

Scouting.

An argument can be made that perhaps the Red Wings scouting isn’t what it once was, but even if it is a fraction of what it used to be, that’s still better than most of the NHL. The Red Wings have historically been able to hit big on late-round draft picks and much of that credit belongs to Håkan Andersson who is the Director of European Scouting for Detroit. Andersson is largely responsible for the Red Wings drafting Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen, Tomas Holmstrom, Valtteri Filppula, Tomas Tatar, Jiri Hudler, Niklas Kronwall, Jonathan Ericsson, and Gustav Nyquist. While that list is impressive, even more impressive is that Detroit only drafted one of those players in the first round (Kronwall).

Unfortunately for Detroit’s scouting department, the NHL is very much a what have you done for me lately league and their drafting hasn’t been what it once was. That’s not to say they haven’t hit home runs. Tyler Bertuzzi was a late second-round pick, as was Filip Hronek, while Andreas Athanasiou was selected late in the fourth round. Unfortunately for the Red Wings, none of those players worked out in Detroit and they all find themselves in other uniforms.

At this moment, the Red Wings do have some emerging young forwards who could make an impact over the next few years. It will be interesting to re-evaluate the Red Wings scouting in five years to look back and see how they assessed their talent.

What would the Red Wings be even more thankful for?

A Patrick Kane return to form.

If Patrick Kane can be anything close to what he was before double hip surgery, the Red Wings will be a real threat in the Eastern Conference. If he ends up like many of his peers who have undergone a hip resurfacing procedure, he might not be able to make much of an impact.

Those are obviously very different outcomes, and it could ultimately be the difference in the Red Wings season. Kane is just two years removed from posting 26 goals and 66 assists in 78 games and if he can bring some of that offense to Detroit’s lineup, along with the leadership that comes with winning three Stanley Cups, then he could push Detroit to be among the contenders in the East. But, if he can’t, Detroit may not be able to outscore some of the subpar goaltending they have received from Ville Husso.

It’s too early to tell how Kane will hold up under the grind of the regular season, but so far, he has looked strong with a goal in two games. Despite starting a huge percentage of his shifts in the defensive zone, Kane has been able to drive play, and get some good looks at both five-on-five and on the power play. As he gets into better game shape, he could become a difference-maker for the Red Wings and that would be something for Detroit fans to be even more thankful for.

What should be on the Red Wings holiday wish list?

A starting goaltender.

Ville Husso isn’t it for Detroit. The 28-year-old has started the majority of the Red Wings games this year and has not been good. In 14 games thus far, the native of Helsinki, Finland has gone 8-4-2 with a .886 save percentage and 3.65 goals against average. Those numbers will not do for a team that is desperate to get back into the playoffs and who has a good enough lineup to do so if they can get the goaltending.

What complicates matters is that backups James Reimer and Alex Lyon have outplayed Husso by a very wide margin. Reimer is 2-2-2 in six starts and has a .922 save percentage with a 2.18 goals-against average, while Lyon is 4-2-0 with a .931 save percentage and a goals-against average of 2.13.

The wings are faced with several choices when it comes to their goaltending. They can ride it out with Husso and hope he finds his game while having Lyon and Reimer as backup options in case he falters. Or they can try and move Husso and his $4.75MM cap hit and then try and find another starting goaltender to replace him. Another option might be to add some additional depth, but with Lyon and Reimer already in the system it would become tricky to carry four goaltenders as one would have to be exposed to waivers. Carrying three goaltenders is already unusual, and if Detroit was to target a depth option, they would probably have to move one from one of their netminders.

Something that could work in Detroit’s favor is that they are one of the only contending teams that have a sizeable amount of cap space, meaning they could potentially acquire a goaltender and keep Husso if they wanted to, or move on from Husso and retain some of his cap hit in a trade.

If Husso does continue to struggle Detroit’s starting goalie job will be available, and it could become something to keep an eye on as we get closer to the trade deadline.

Snapshots: Hronek, Bratt, Michkov

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The Vancouver Canucks paid a handsome price to the Detroit Red Wings last season in order to acquire defenseman Filip Hronek, surrendering a first and second-round pick. Part of their rationale in acquiring Hronek was that ascending right-shot blueliners capable of scoring at or above a 40-point pace are exceedingly rare, and by acquiring Hronek the team managed to add a defenseman who would arguably slot in as their best behind franchise blueliner Quinn Hughes.

But with just four total games under his belt and a contract set to expire at the end of the season (he’ll be an RFA, one season away from UFA status) the 2023-24 season is shaping up to be a massive one in determining whether the Canucks’ investment in Hronek will be a lasting one. As TSN’s Travis Yost writes, Vancouver is “betting on” Hronek emerging as a capable, reliable top-four defenseman and building on the development he showed over the last two years in Detroit. If he can shore up a spot as the Canucks’ number-two defenseman, a long-term extension in Vancouver could come before the end of the season.

Some other notes from across the NHL:

  • New Jersey Devils winger Jesper Bratt had put off settling down and signing a long-term contract extension until this past summer, and that patience paid off as his back-to-back 73-point seasons earned him a $7.875MM AAV deal that stretches through the 2030-31 season. Despite now earning that guaranteed financial security, Bratt explained to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek on the 32 Thoughts podcast that the removal of the pressure of playing on a one-year deal won’t impact his preparation or motivation for the seasons to come. Bratt said “Now that the eight-year deal has come around, I know what it means,” adding that “work that has to be put in every day” so that he can live up to the lofty price tag. The Devils have grand designs for their era of contention led by Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier, and if the team ends up achieving those lofty goals next season it’s highly likely Bratt will be a major reason why.
  • Philadelphia Flyers top prospect Matvei Michkov was a healthy scratch for his KHL club’s season-opening game today, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jordan Hall. The 2023 seventh-overall pick is beginning the first of three seasons left on his KHL contract and scored 20 points in 27 games on loan with HK Sochi last season. His success as a scorer last season raises questions as to why Michkov has been scratched, especially seeing as the move was not, per Hall, injury-related. While Michkov has a long runway to develop his game before he’ll have to hit the ice for the Flyers, it’s certainly not a positive for either Michkov or Flyers fans that he’s not drawing into SKA St. Petersburg’s lineup.

Canucks Shutting Filip Hronek Down For The Rest Of The Season

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Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek returned to the lineup last week from a shoulder injury but that return was short-lived.  Speaking with reporters today at his pregame press conference (video link), head coach Rick Tocchet indicated that they’ve decided to shut the blueliner down for the rest of the season:

There’s really no reason for him to come back. If this were a playoff game, he’d be in the game, but it’s not a playoff game. Every game is important to us obviously, but not at the expense of… he’s going to have a long time to get his shoulder perfect.

The 25-year-old was somewhat surprisingly acquired from Detroit just before the trade deadline earlier this month with Vancouver opting to add to their back end despite not being in a playoff position.  Of course, Hronek isn’t a rental player with another year left on his deal plus one more season of RFA eligibility after that.  GM Patrik Allvin made the move with the hopes that Hronek could benefit from a bigger role on a new team to help solidify his back end.

Unfortunately, the early results on that front are basically inconclusive.  Hronek will wind up playing in just four games with Vancouver and while he logged more than 24 minutes a night, that’s far too small of a sample size to derive any meaningful conclusions from.  Overall, his point output this season winds up nearly identical to that of 2021-22; he finishes with nine goals and 29 assists in 60 games compared to nine goals and 30 helpers in 64 contests a season ago.

Tocchet indicated that Hronek is fine with the decision to sit him for the final couple of weeks of the season to give him ample time to fully heal up his shoulder for 2023-24.  If he’s able to log upwards of 24 minutes a night for the Canucks next season, he’ll certainly give their back end a significant boost.

Injury Notes: Hronek, Spurgeon, Kassian

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The Vancouver Canucks are hoping to have one of their top blue liners back soon. Farhan Lalji of TSN reports that head coach Rick Tocchet said Filip Hronek is day-to-day and there is a good chance he will be able to play on Thursday. Hronek was acquired by the Canucks in a somewhat surprising trade deadline deal. The Canucks were not expected to be buyers, but offered up a first-round pick and a second-round pick to the Detroit Red Wings for Hronek.

The 25-year-old right defenseman is yet to make his Canucks debut as he has been out of the lineup since February 28 with an upper-body injury. It sounds like he is close to getting back on the ice, and the Cancucks may see him join them for the first time when they take on the San Jose Sharks on Thursday.

  • Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon was a late scratch for tonight’s game. The team announced he will be out of the lineup with a non-covid illness. Spurgeon has scored ten goals and 30 points in 70 games for the Wild who are in a tight battle with the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars for positioning in the Central Division. While they will miss his presence against the New Jersey Devils, luckily it does not sound like a long-term absence.
  • The Arizona Coyotes announced Zack Kassian would not suit up tonight. The rugged winger is sidelined with an upper-body injury and will miss tonight’s game against the Winnipeg Jets. The 32 year old has played 51 games for the Coyotes this season, scoring just two goals and zero assists. Kassian has one more year on his contract following this season with a $3.2MM cap hit.

Vancouver Canucks Acquire Filip Hronek

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The Vancouver Canucks, not content with building through the draft, have already traded the conditional first-round pick they received from the New York Islanders in exchange for captain Bo Horvat. The Canucks have sent it, along with a 2023 second-round pick, to the Detroit Red Wings for defenseman Filip Hronek and a 2023 fourth-round selection.

Hronek, 25, has developed into quite a strong all-around defenseman for the Red Wings and will set a career-high in scoring whenever he records his next point this season. That may have to wait a little while, as he left last night’s game after just eight minutes of action and is dealing with an upper-body injury.

The Canucks aren’t getting him for right now, though, as their season is already over. Instead, the focus of a pickup like this will be on next year when the Vancouver management believes the team can be competitive. Hronek is signed through next season on his current three-year, $13.2MM contract, and will be a restricted free agent at its expiry next summer.

It’s that contract price tag that makes this trade a little bit confusing from the Canucks perspective. Hronek is probably still providing some surplus value on his $4.4MM cap hit, but Vancouver will probably only get one year of that before another raise (he is owed a $5.28MM qualifying offer) is due. With the way the team’s cap situation looks at the moment, it’s hard to see how that will fit in, given the big sums already owed to Quinn Hughes and Oliver Ekman-Larsson through 2026-27.

Make no mistake, Hronek’s arrival in Vancouver will make them a better team. He instantly becomes their second-best defenseman, and could form a legitimate top pair with Hughes for the next several years. But Canucks fans are going to be screaming from the rooftops, at a management group that refuses to pull the plug and rebuild.

For Detroit, dealing Hronek brings up more questions than answers, as general manager Steve Yzerman tries to get the club to the playoffs as soon as possible. Are the Red Wings now looking at acquiring someone like Jakob Chychrun? Will they use their stash of draft picks on an even bigger name?

After signing Dylan Larkin to a massive extension today, the team signaled to fans that the rebuild is over. With five picks in the first two rounds of this year’s draft, and plenty of cap space, they could be preparing to make a big splash in the next few days, or this summer.

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