The Vancouver Canucks are halfway through training camp and some potential opening night line combinations are starting to form.
The team’s defence corps has undergone a lot of change since last year and there could be new pairings on the horizon. If it were up to captain Quinn Hughes however, he will be playing with the same partner he did last season.
“I’m always under the assumption, don’t fix what’s not broken you know?” said Hughes to Dan Riccio and Satiar Shah on Canucks Central yesterday when asked about the potential of playing away from Filip Hronek.
“Me and Fil were great last year, we were +40. Team was a goal away from going to the conference final.”
“I haven’t really talked to anyone about it. I love playing with Fil. I can play with Juulsen or Myers or whatnot, we’ve got a lot of good players to play with but I fit best with Fil. You’ve seen that, proof is in the pudding.”
The paring of Hughes and Hronek was one of the most effective across the entire NHL last season. They played more than 1,100 minutes together at five-on-five while the next most used Canucks pairing, Tyler Myers and Carson Soucy, played fewer than 400 minutes together.
With their top duo on the ice at five-on-five, the Canucks outscored opponents 72-46. The team also controlled 52.48% of the shots and 56.53% of the scoring chances in those minutes.
The Canucks are two days through their four-day training camp and thus far Hughes has been skating with Noah Juulsen while Hronek has been skating with 20-year-old Elias Pettersson. The fact that Hronek is paired with a player destined for the AHL likely means the Canucks are not holding auditions for that spot, suggesting Hughes is penciled in.
Hughes had a breakout season last year and took his game to another level, partially due to the support of Hronek who has great puck skills and offensive IQ. The American won the league’s Norris Trophy for being the best blueliner, becoming the first player in Canucks history to do so.