The Vancouver Canucks have signed Filip Hronek to a big contract extension.
This new deal will keep Hronek with the team for eight years, costing $7.25 million annually and totaling $58 million. He’ll be with the Canucks until he’s 34 years old in the 2031-32 season. The contract includes signing bonuses almost every year, which could cost up to $4 million each year according to Frank Seravalli from Daily Faceoff. From 2025-28, Hronek has a full no-move clause and a partial one from 2028-32.
Hronek has become an important part of the team, playing alongside Quinn Hughes. They spent most of their time on the ice together and it worked well; Hronek scored 48 points in 81 games, his best season yet. This built on his previous seasons with Detroit where he had two 38-point seasons. In his first Stanley Cup Playoffs appearance, his scoring dropped to just two points in 13 games but he made up for it with strong defense: delivering 25 hits and blocking 15 shots.
Fans might think this deal shows how much faith the Canucks have in Hronek’s future performance.
Canucks’ Future Moves:
With this extension done, Vancouver now has about $16.83 million left in cap space and ten pending free agents to consider. One key player is Elias Lindholm, who was traded for top prospect Hunter Brzustewicz, Joni Jurmo, and draft picks earlier this season. Lindholm hasn’t quite fit into the lineup yet, scoring only 12 points in 26 games. Rumors say he wants a big extension which could be tough given Vancouver’s limited budget.
Another free agent is Nikita Zadorov who also joined from a trade this year. Zadorov showed strong performance with 14 points and racked up 102 penalty minutes over 54 games—matching last year’s pace of scoring.
Zadorov wants to stay but money might be tight due to other priorities like Dakota Joshua and Arturs Silovs needing new deals too. Joshua became crucial late in the season with eight points and led the team with 75 hits during playoffs while Silovs stepped up as goalie when Thatcher Demko got injured, winning five out of ten playoff games with a .898 save percentage.
After weeks of speculation about their next moves, it looks like Vancouver is focusing on strengthening their defense first before looking at forwards or goalies. They’ve been linked to star winger Jake Guentzel who scored an impressive 77 points in just 67 games this season along with nine more during playoffs—he could replace Lindholm if negotiations fall through.
What do you think about these moves? Do you agree or disagree?
