The Vancouver Canucks find themselves in a precarious position on defense after star blueliner Filip Hronek suffered an upper-body injury in Wednesday’s 5-4 loss to the Penguins.
Hronek, a key partner to Quinn Hughes on the Canucks top defensive pair, was averaging over 24 minutes per game and forming one of the NHL’s most effective defensive duos in Vancouver.
With no clear timeline for his return, per head coach Rick Tocchet, the team is exploring options to bolster their blue line although the franchise is in no rush to make a move.
NHL insider Elliotte Friedman shed light on the Canucks’ approach during Sportsnet’s “Saturday Headlines” last weekend.
“Vancouver’s down defensemen. They’ve also struggled a bit defensively,” Friedman said. “They’re out there. They have one of the most aggressive front offices in the league. Everybody knows it.
“Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin are not afraid to do anything, but they’ve made it clear: ‘We’re not going to do something just because other people think we’re desperate.'”
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While Hughes has continued to anchor the defense-logging over 28 minutes and registering two assists in Friday’s 4–3 overtime win against Buffalo and playing 31 minutes in the OT win against Detroit on Sunday assisting three more goals-the supporting cast has faltered.
Tyler Myers and Carson Soucy, relied upon to step up in Hronek’s absence, have struggled, posting a minus-8 goal differential at five-on-five.
