Filip Hronek will be out eight weeks for the Vancouver Canucks after having a lower-body procedure, general manager Patrik Allvin said on Tuesday.
Allvin also said the defenseman will not need surgery on an upper-body injury he sustained in the final minute of a 5-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Nov. 27.
Hronek, who plays on the top defense pair with Quinn Hughes, has nine points (one goal, eight assists) and a plus-14 rating in 21 games this season. He is also second on the team, behind Hughes, in ice time per game (23:36)
Hronek signed an eight-year, $58 million contract ($7.25 million average annual value) with the Canucks on June 19 after he set NHL career highs in assists (43), points (48), plus-minus rating (plus-33) and shots on goal (148) in 81 games last season.
Vincent Desharnais will play for the third straight game in Hronek's place when the Canucks play at the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; FDSNWIX, FDSNNO, SNP). He had been a healthy scratch the past six games prior to Hronek's injury.
Defenseman Mark Friedman was recalled from Abbotsford of the American Hockey League on Nov. 28, a day after Hronek was injured, but has been a scratch the past two games.
