Filip Hronek isn’t looking for the exit as the Vancouver Canucks settle into a rebuild.
The 28-year-old defenseman is set to be one of the team’s oldest players this season, and while he has voiced frustration before about the Canucks’ direction and the grind of losing, he’s not talking like someone ready to bail on the project. Hronek’s contract runs through the end of the 2031-32 season, with an average annual value of $7.25 million, so any move would have to come from the team.
At the Jake Milford Canucks Charity Invitational Golf Tournament on Monday, Hronek was asked about being part of what looks like the first clear-cut year of a longer rebuild. His answer was direct: “I don’t want to run away,”
He expanded on that by saying, “Obviously winning is really important, but I just don’t want to run away,” before adding, “I think we can build something special.”
Hronek is coming off a season in which he put up eight goals and 49 points in 82 games, and the Canucks are hoping he can keep that production rolling while the organization resets around him.
That reset took a major turn over the summer. The team moved on from general manager Patrik Allvin and president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford, then shifted into a new era with co-presidents Henrik and Daniel Sedin and new GM Ryan Johnson.
Those changes gave Vancouver a clearer direction, with the club now aiming for a full rebuild instead of trying to patch things together and stay in the middle. It also means this season will be a test of patience and mindset for Hronek and the rest of the roster, with the Canucks not expected to come close to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
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Canucks Prospects Just Created A Training Camp Question Fans Will Love
The Canucks young forwards continued to make a case for themselves at prospect camp, with a 5-2 win over the Seattle Kraken prospects in Game 2 turning largely on the play of a reshuffled top line. Adam Novotn, Braeden Cootes and Brooks Rogowski were the group doing most of the damage after head coach Ryan Papaioannou adjusted the combinations, and the trio ended up accounting for three of Vancouvers five goals.
For a camp that is supposed to sort out futures rather than settle anything too quickly, that kind of chemistry is the sort of thing coaches notice. Ilya Safonov was also in the mix on a different line, though his role leaned more toward defending and staying reliable away from the puck, leaving Vancouver with a familiar training-camp question: which young players have earned a longer look when the competition gets more serious? [Read more 🡒]
Bo Horvat Just Reached A New Level Since Leaving Vancouver
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For Canucks fans, the milestone also adds another layer to a move that already shaped both teams. Horvat has logged 260 regular-season games for the Islanders and produced 99 goals and 99 assists, the kind of steady impact that makes a leadership promotion feel earned rather than ceremonial. The only thing left to see is how this new responsibility changes his role as the Islanders try to build around him. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks Prospects Just Put Early Pressure On The Future Depth Chart
A young Canucks group left the 2026 Prospects Showcase with some real momentum after splitting a two-game set with the Seattle Kraken. Vancouver dropped the opener 7-3 before responding with a 5-2 win, and the results were less important than the way Adam Novotn, Brooks Rogowski and Braeden Cootes kept showing up in meaningful moments.
Novotn scored in both games, Rogowski earned work on both the power play and penalty kill, and Cootes wore an alternate captains letter while contributing at both ends of the ice. Coach Ryan Papaioannou also singled out Rogowskis playmaking, a useful sign for a prospect group trying to push its way up a depth chart that has plenty of decisions waiting down the road. [Read more 🡒]