Vancouver Canucks Get Brutal News on Filip Hronek

This is not what the Vancouver Canucks needed right now. After taking a hit into the end boards Wednesday night and being in obvious pain, it appears that workhorse defenseman Filip Hronek is dealing with a serious injury.

Sounds like Canuck Defenceman Filip Hronek is going to be out a while with an upper body injury.
— Irfaan Gaffar (@irfgaffar) November 28, 2024

Irfaan Gaffar reported that Hronek "is going to be out a while with an upper-body injury," while adding, however, that he doesn't believe that surgery will be required. Nevertheless, Hronek will miss significant time.

Canucks insider Rick Dhaliwal said he’s heard speculation that it could be a shoulder separation.

Hronek fell awkwardly after the hit, and appeared in a lot of pain. He left the ice favoring what appeared to be his right shoulder.

A shoulder injury is what ended Hronek's season back in 2023, just four games after his acquisition by Vancouver in a trade deadline deal. There's no word yet if the current injury is related to that.

The 27-year-old has risen to be an indispensable member of the Vancouver blueline, and signed an 8-year, $58 million contract ($7.25M AAV) with the team this past summer. He racked up a career-high 43 assists and 48 points last season with a tremendous plus/minus of +33, and this year had accounted for nine points in 21 games with a +14 rating already.

Derek Forbort has also been out for nearly a month, so Hronek's absence leaves the Canucks' blueline further weakened. The right side, in particular, is now reduced to the collection of Tyler Myers, Noah Juulsen, and Vincent Desharnais.