The Vancouver Canucks have their top pairing set for years to come.
Filip Hronek was undoubtedly the Canucks' most important pending free agent, a big-minute, right-shot defenceman in the prime of his career. There were rumours that contract negotiations had stalled and that team might even trade Hronek at the draft if a deal didn't get done by then.
Instead, general manager Patrik Allvin got Hronek re-signed well ahead of the draft, setting the salary cap table for the rest of their offseason.
Hronek re-signed with the Canucks on a $58 million, eight-year deal with an average annual value of $7.25 million. That $7.25 million cap hit is lower than he would have likely received in arbitration, where he had an excellent case.
If he went the arbitration route, however, Hronek could only have received a one year contract, with no guarantees that a big-money, long-term contract was to follow. An eight-year deal gives Hronek a lot more security.
The deal gives the Canucks eight years of one of the hardest things to find in hockey: a right-shot defenceman that can play 23+ minutes per game. In addition, Hronek has proven chemistry with the Canucks' most important player, Quinn Hughes.
"Filip has fit in seamlessly on our blueline, giving us stability and strength on the right side,” said Allvin in a statement. “His ability to skate, defend and create offence is exactly what you want from a top pairing defenceman. This season he has shown all of us his desire to compete and a willingness to be a leader on this hockey team. We look forward to seeing him continue to help elevate our group and for him to grow both on and off the ice."
Hronek's signing leaves the Canucks with approximately $19.3 million remaining in cap space with 16 players on their roster. The Canucks' key free agents remaining include Elias Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, Tyler Myers, Dakota Joshua, Teddy Blueger, and Arturs Silovs.
Hronek coming in a little under projected gives the Canucks a bit more wiggle room to potentially add a big-ticket free agent like Jake Guentzel. It remains to be seen if they'll need to clear more cap space to make all the improvements they'd like to make but locking up Hronek long-term clears up the team's salary cap picture.
