Filip Hronek signs, but Canucks can’t sign all their free agents: GM Allvin

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And like that, the Vancouver Canucks have secured their top defence pairing.

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After weeks of speculation about the future of defenceman Filip Hronek, the Czech blueliner’s future is secure.

The NHL team announced Tuesday afternoon that they’d agreed to an eight-year, $58 million contract with Hronek.

Hronek’s skill, not to mention the fact that he’s a right shot, saw him fit in seamlessly into the Canucks’ defence corps, general manager Patrik Allvin told the media in a brief press conference over Zoom on Tuesday.

The way he skates, passes and shoots the puck, along with his defensive abilities, are perfect for a top-pairing defenceman, the GM added.

“And I think there is more to come there,” Allvin said.

Hronek’s agent, Allan Walsh, took to X to congratulate his client on the signing.

“He loved the team, the guys and the city so much, he decided to stay awhile,” Walsh tweeted. He added a smiley-face emoji.

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Hronek’s camp is certainly smiling and Allvin is pleased to have the 26-year-old defenceman under contract until 2032, but the GM also had to admit that locking the defenceman in at this price point also locks in a reality that has long been obvious from the outside: there are some unrestricted free agents who finished the season on the roster who won’t be back for another season.

“It definitely appears to us here that we’re not going to be able to sign all of them,” Allvin said.

That said, Allvin said he had no worries about locking Hronek in long-term. He said that conversations between him and Walsh had been going for a while and it was clear from the very early going that Hronek’s desire was to stay in Vancouver.

“We as an organization needed to look at your projected roster moving forward here but we felt comfortable with (the) age where Filip is and where we believe his game could go at. And also finding a right shot defenceman at that age and at his quality, made us feel comfortable going into an eighth year,” he added.

The average annual value of $7.25 million was the final negotiating point, Allvin indicated.

“That’s why sometimes discussions or negotiations take a little bit longer,” he said.

Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported that $21 million of the $58 million to be paid out over the term of the contract will be in signing bonuses, though intriguingly, the only season he won’t receive a signing bonus will be the 2026-27 season, which many observers believe could see another lockout of the players by the owners; the current collective bargaining agreement between the players and the league expires ahead of that season.

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Hronek was set to be a restricted free agent July 1, assuming the Canucks had tendered him a qualifying offer. He’d have had rights to ask for salary arbitration, where it was expected he’d earn a big raise. Arbitration awards, though, are for only one or two years, so the Canucks look to have secured the crafty defenceman on a very good-value deal.

Hronek’s average annual value is lower than than that of team captain Quinn Hughes. You assume the Canucks would have wanted to keep Hughes as the team’s highest-paid defenceman.

Allvin said he and his staff believe that Hronek could yet still grow as a defenceman and that it wasn’t a certainty he would always be deployed with Hughes.

“There is part of Fillip’s game where we can utilize him more offensively. If that’s by having him with Quinn Hughes or having him running another pair, being the main guy (or) how you utilize him on the powerplay,” the GM said. “But I do think that this was a great experience, learning experience, for Filip playing those meaningful games in the end, getting those 13 playoff games. I believe that he has another level to get to and I believe that he’s capable of getting to another level and finding his consistency more.”

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The 26-year-old Hronek played in 81 games with the Canucks this season, scoring 48 points, a career best. The Canucks added him at the 2023 NHL trade deadline from the Detroit Red Wings; he only suited up for four games with Vancouver in 2022-23 because of a shoulder injury sustained in his last game with Detroit.

Hronek was a solid partner for Hughes, using his quick hands and feet to evade forecheckers and help Hughes lead smooth breakouts.

A late-season elbow injury limited his offensive effectiveness down the stretch and in the playoffs — he managed just a goal and an assist in 13 playoff games — but he was still leaned on heavily, playing the second-most minutes on the team, just behind Hughes.

Hronek has played in 390 career regular season games split between Vancouver and Detroit, recording 205 points and 200 penalty minutes.

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Hronek was originally selected by the Red Wings 53rd overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

Allvin is speaking with the media at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.

Another right-shot D-man in free agency?

Allvin was non-committal about whether he’d pursue another big name on the right side, which would seem to be a requirement if Hronek is going to run his own pairing.

“We have Noah Juulsen that is capable playing in the top six, we have Cole McWard knocking on the door, who had a really strong second half in Abbotsford, that I hope is going to have a good summer and come in here and push for a roster spot as well,” he noted.

Tyler Myers is another right-shot blueliner who is a free agent this summer, and its widely expected that the Canucks will find a way to re-sign the veteran.

pjohnston@postmedia.com

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