As the Vancouver Canucks continue to navigate the trajectory of their rebuild, speculation surrounding who will stay and who could be moved ahead of the NHL trade deadline has been unavoidable.

According to NHL player agent Allan Walsh, however, his client Filip Hronek can be firmly crossed off the list of potential trade pieces. Walsh addressed the situation publicly on Friday during his podcast, Agent Provocateur.

“Talking about Filip Hronek being trade is wasted air,” Walsh said. “I’m not going to divulge directly my conversations with management. But let’s just say there is an understanding that Filip Hronek is going to be part of the solution going forward in Vancouver and not someone that they are going to be looking to move.”

That sentiment appears to be shared by both the Canucks organization and Hronek, with Walsh noting that the two sides are aligned on Hronek’s role in the club’s future.

“Both sides are basically saying, ‘We’re really happy with each other, and we really like the role [Hronek] is playing, and the player is satisfied with the role he is playing,’” Walsh explained.

While the Canucks’ struggles continue, recently snapping an 11-game skid, Hronek’s competitiveness is a major factor in why Vancouver views him as part of its long-term plan. His four goals and 29 points are good for second in the Canucks scoring race, one behind forward Elias Pettersson.

“Obviously, Filip is not happy when Vancouver loses because there is no more competitive guy who hates losing than him,” Walsh said, adding that Hronek understands where the team is in its competitive cycle.

At 28 years old, and with a young core of defencemen already seeing NHL minutes in Tom Willander, Zeev Buium, and Elias Pettersson, Vancouver values Hronek’s experience and leadership in the locker room – that has only increased since the trade of his long-time defence partner, Quinn Hughes.

He isn’t available, and he isn’t going anywhere. As Walsh put it succinctly: “Anybody talking about Hronek available, trade, this, that — wasted air.”