Filip Hronek came to Vancouver with a reputation after the Canucks got him in a trade with the Detroit Red Wings last year.
The Czech blueliner was known for being gifted offensively, but also known for a remarkable ability to dodge the media in Detroit.
That has largely been the case during his time with the Canucks as well.
Hronek has rarely been made available to the media after games and practices, which is a rarity for an NHL player who has a significant role on the team. Reporters spoke to fourth-liners and AHL call-ups far more than they spoke to the second-best Canucks defenceman this season.
However, Hronek was present at today’s season-ending media availability at Rogers Arena and answered reporters’ questions.
Sort of.
When asked an open-ended question about his first full season in Vancouver ahead of offseason contract negotiations, his answer was eight seconds long.
“Season was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed it,” said Hronek. “We had such a good group of guys, so it was a lot of fun.”
Hronek’s offensive production tailed off in the second half of the season, and there were rumours that he was playing through an injury in the playoffs.
He was asked about it by Jeff Paterson from Rink Wide.
“You named it. Like, first half of the year I was producing. Second half, I was not,” Hronek said.
When pressed for a reason why, Hronek gave a dismissive answer.
“Why? If I know the answer, I probably would do something different. Right? When I didn’t produce, I would try to change something.”
He was then asked again if he was playing through an injury and he looked annoyed answering.
“No.”
That’s when Paterson pointed out that Hronek hasn’t answered questions all season.
“We gave you your space all year. We’re just trying to ask a few questions at this stage,” said Paterson.
“Well, what do you want me to say?” Hronek snapped back. “What do you want me to say on an injury, if I didn’t have injury. What do you want me to say? I said no.”
Well, then.
Filip Hronek being Pissy pic.twitter.com/6dS28xNusY
— 𝔾𝕞𝕒𝕟 ✨ (@NotoriousGman88) May 23, 2024
It will be interesting to see what happens with Hronek this summer.
The 26-year-old is a restricted free agent and has a good case to make in arbitration, should it come to that. The right-shot defenceman had a heavy workload, averaging 23:26 per game on the top pairing with Quinn Hughes, and tallied 48 points (5-43-48) in 81 games.
But as Paterson alluded to, it was a tale of two seasons for him.
Hronek had 36 points in the first 42 games and formed the best defence pairing in the NHL with Hughes.
But he had just 12 points over his final 39 games and only two (1-1-2) in 13 playoff games.
For the record, Sportsnet’s Dan Murphy is reporting that Hronek was dealing with an injury.
So what’s he worth?
Canucks management will need to decide how much of Hronek’s success was due to playing with the likely Norris Trophy winner by his side. That’s going to be difficult to determine, given that Hronek played 82% of his five-on-five minutes this season with Hughes.
Hronek is reportedly asking for $8 million a season, which is more than Hughes ($7.85 million) currently makes. Just 20 NHL defencemen are scheduled to make $8 million or more next season.