Filip Hronek Speaks on New Contract and Playing Alongside Quinn Hughes

Filip Hronek inked a shiny new 58-million-dollar contract on Tuesday, and on Wednesday morning, he spoke with the media about the deal and staying in Vancouver for the next eight years.

“I’m really excited, obviously,” said Hronek. “I’m really happy I got a long-term deal and am happy to be [in Vancouver] for eight more years. I think we had a good season and obviously, we were hoping for a better ending but overall, I think it was pretty good.”

Hronek joked that he will have to do more media during the next eight seasons as he embraces the rabid Vancouver hockey market. The 26-year-old said that he enjoyed the entire year and that it was an easy decision to get this deal done.

When asked about playing alongside Quinn Hughes on a defence pairing, Hronek pointed out how seamless a transition it was for him to skate alongside Hughes.

“It’s pretty easy to play with him,” Hronek said of Hughes. “We have good chemistry on and off the ice, so it helps, and I’m really excited to keep it going. Everything was natural, and we see a lot of things the same way and are able to talk about a lot of stuff, even off the ice and on the ice as well. It’s pretty easy, actually. It’s a really good relationship.” 

The Hughes-Hronek pairing ranked high in many categories for defence pairings that played a minimum of 800 minutes at five-on-five last season.

They ranked fourth in control of goal share with a 61% control and were on the ice for 72 goals scored and only 46 goals against. They were fifth in Corsi with 56.44%, fifth in control of scoring chances with 56.53%, and 10th in the league with a 52.48% control of the shot share. 

Only the Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard pairing was on the ice for more goals this season. The Hughes-Hronek duo was on the ice for 72 goals scored at five-on-five while the Ekholm-Bouchard pairing was on for 78.

Hronek did not take much time off this offseason and is already back working out and says that a big break makes it harder to get back into the swing of things as an NHL player.

His goal this summer is to continue to train hard and be fitter than ever in his career for this coming training camp.

“I would like to get stronger like every year,” said Hronek about his offseason. “That’s the biggest thing, to get myself strong and make sure that I can keep that strongness during the whole season.”

With a new contract in hand and unfinished business on his mind, Hronek is coming into the 2024-25 season looking to prove that this team can build on what they did during his first full year as a Vancouver Canuck.