Canucks, Filip Hronek agree to 8-year, $58 million extension: Why the deal works

The Vancouver Canucks have locked up defenseman Filip Hronek on a max-term, eight-year extension worth $58 million ($7.25 million annual average value), the club announced on Tuesday.

Acquired in a controversial trade ahead of the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline, Hronek had a marvelous first season in Vancouver. He played a first pair role on Quinn Hughes’ right side and contributed 48 points as the Canucks dramatically exceeded preseason expectations, winning the Pacific Division and advancing to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

General Manager Patrik Allvin announces that the #Canucks have agreed to terms with defenceman Filip Hronek on an 8-year contract with a $7.25M AAV. pic.twitter.com/gmRO7O6AOm

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) June 18, 2024

As a result of his contributions and impact, the arbitration-eligible restricted free agent had a ton of leverage in contract talks. This was always going to be a complicated and expensive extension to negotiate.

Ultimately the club was able to get it done, and get it done relatively early. Contracts with arbitration-eligible players with significant leverage like Hronek often take until mid-July or August to complete. Given all that the Canucks have on the front burner this offseason — including a bevy of key unrestricted free agents — locking in Hronek early and having long-term certainty on their top pair is enormously helpful for the club in moving forward and filling out this roster.

While Hronek’s performance fell back to Earth somewhat in the second half of the season and into the playoffs, he was clearly the Canucks’ most indispensable piece among their pending free agents this summer. Hronek isn’t just a productive part of Vancouver’s offensive attack — he found unique chemistry with Hughes, helping Vancouver’s superstar defender elevate his game and put in a Norris Trophy-calibre 2023-24 campaign.

Locking up Hronek allows the Canucks to maintain the edge that the team was able to rely on with Hronek and Hughes on the ice at five-on-five. Vancouver outscored their opponents by 30 goals in those minutes during the 2023-24 campaign.

We’ve seen from the success of both the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup playoffs how crucial is is to be able to count on winning minutes at the top end of the lineup. While we never really saw Hronek counted on to carry his own pair during his first Canucks season, Hronek definitively proved that he’s capable of logging major minutes and helping the Canucks drive elite results with their top pair on the ice at even strength.

That’s absolutely worth paying $7.25 million per season for, even on a max-term deal that will keep Hronek in Vancouver through his age-34 campaign.

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(Photo: John Russell / NHLI via Getty Images)