Canucks’ Rick Tocchet says no timeline on Filip Hronek’s injury, still being evaluated

Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet says that there is no timeline on a return for defenseman Filip Hronek as he is still being evaluated.

Hronek has racked up nine points in 21 games this season while playing on the top defensive unit with Canucks captain, Quinn Hughes.

Tocchet announced that Vincent Desharnais will draw into the lineup today vs. Buffalo. The 6-foot-6 defender has one point in 11 games this season.

This past summer, the Canucks signed Hronek to an eight-year contract with a $7.25 million cap hit. Hronek was in the final year of a three-year contract with a $4.4 million cap hit that he originally signed with the Detroit Red Wings prior to being traded to Vancouver in 2023.

The 27-year-old is coming off his most successful season in the NHL during the 2023-24 campaign, where he had five goals and 43 assists for 48 points in 81 games with the Canucks. It was a career-high in assists and points, passing his 33-assist mark set in 2021-22 and his 39-point mark set in 2022-23.

Hronek is a former second-round pick by the Red Wings in the 2016 NHL Draft, making his debut with the team in 2018 and went on to spend parts of five seasons in Detroit before he was surprisingly dealt to the Canucks at the 2023 trade deadline. He’s since spent a bit over a year with the team, and is now set to spend another eight.

Vancouver currently sits fourth in the Pacific Division with an 11-7-3 record and 25 points. The Canucks are slated to face the Buffalo Sabres on Friday and the Red Wings on Sunday.