On today’s episode of Canucks Conversation, David Quadrelli and Harman Dayal were joined by Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli to talk about the Canucks’ trade outlook and the fascinating story of acquiring defenceman Filip Hronek.
Harm asked Frank his thoughts on what the defence market looks like, and how realistic it is for the Canucks to swing a move this far ahead of the deadline.
“I phoned a GM (undisclosed) and said, ‘Let’s pretend a hypothetical that the Canucks are out there and trying to make a move for a defenceman, work through your list with me and tell me who you see could be a fit in Vancouver.’ We worked through 90 percent of the league, and I don’t think we had two names on the board… I’m not seeing a fit that jumps out. Teams that have top 4 guys aren’t really giving them up,” Frank answered.
“Finding someone that fits Vancouver’s age, contract, and cap scheme – are you interested in a 34-year-old with 4 years left on his deal whose game has clearly passed him by? I’m not, and I’m sure the Canucks aren’t… The question, ‘Who’s a good fit?’ – I don’t have an answer for that. But I think they’re going to, at some point this year, pull the trigger on someone.”
Frank mentioned the Canucks’ acquisition of defenceman Filip Hronek last season – a trade that came as a surprise to many.
“About 18 months prior to the trade, Jim Rutherford called and asked if he was available – the answer was no. Fast forward to last year, Steve Yzerman called and said, ‘Here’s what we want–’ and outlined the package. He said, ‘If you say yes today, that will be that, I won’t offer him to anyone else, and his name won’t be out there at all,’ and Jim Rutherford said, essentially, ‘Give me an hour, and I’ll call you back.’ An hour later, he called him back, and boom, the deal was done. That’s sometimes how things operate behind the scenes, all because the Canucks made a call 18 months ahead of time expressing interest.”
When asked if he thinks the trade for Hronek was worth it, Frank answered:
“I do because at some point, whenever it becomes time for the Canucks to have the extension talk, people are going to see the price and say, ‘Man, that was expensive.’ This is a guy who has fit like a glove with Quinn Hughes – they’re always in attack mode, they read so well off each other, and the point production is there… The thing with Hronek is point production has always been there; he’s pretty much been a half-point per game player for 300 NHL games, so not an insignificant total. By that same token, that’s part of what entered into the minds of the Red Wings: ‘We’re entering into a space where we’re gonna need to pay all our guys, do we want to devote this cap space and salary commitment to Filip Hronek?’ And at the end of the day, the answer was, ‘No’… I think the price ended up being fair, like I said earlier, ‘It’s really hard to get your hands on a top 4 NHL defenceman.’”
Watch the full segment in the video below!
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