‘Really good chance’ Canucks trade Filip Hronek by the draft if two sides can’t agree on extension

The Vancouver Canucks have a lot of work to do this offseason after making it all the way to the second round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs last month.

Count ’em off: Elias Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, Dakota Joshua, Tyler Myers, Sam Lafferty, Teddy Blueger, Ian Cole, and Casey DeSmith are all slated to become unrestricted free agents this summer, and we already know the Canucks won’t be able to keep all of them.

But as it stands, the Canucks’ biggest task over the next few weeks might be re-signing defenceman Filip Hronek, who set new career-best marks with 43 assists and 48 points in the 2023-24 regular season.

Although the 26-year-old rearguard managed just two points in 13 playoff contests with the Canucks this spring, that doesn’t mean he won’t command a hefty chunk of change on his next contract. But if he and the Canucks can’t find common ground in their contract negotiations, the team could soon head in another direction.

Satiar Shah discussed what that could mean in conversation with Dan Riccio and Irfaan Gaffar on Tuesday’s edition of Canucks Central on Sportsnet 650.

“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,” Shah said on Tuesday.

The Canucks paid a princely sum to acquire Hronek from the Detroit Red Wings ahead of the 2023 trade deadline, sending the No. 17 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft (Axel Sandin Pellikka) and a second-round pick (traded to Nashville) in exchange for Hronek and a fourth-round pick (Ty Mueller).

Hronek is the Canucks’ No. 2 defenceman essentially by default. Nobody on the team comes even close to Quinn Hughes, who will likely win this year’s Norris Trophy as the league’s top defender, but Hronek is still substantially ahead of Zadorov, Myers, and company. If the Canucks do trade Hronek, they’ll need to source a replacement.

Through 390 career NHL games over parts of six seasons with the Red Wings and Canucks, Hronek has collected 35 goals and 205 points. The 13 playoff games in which he took part this year were the first of his NHL career.