Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek had a career year this season, notching 48 points in 81 games while logging over 23 minutes a night in his first full year in Vancouver. The timing couldn’t have been much better as he’s eligible for restricted free agency with arbitration eligibility this summer. While a long-term deal has been expected for a while, Thomas Drance and Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic report (subscription link) that there has been very little progress made on a new agreement nor have their been any sort of substantive negotiations in several months. Hronek is owed a $5.28MM qualifying offer next month, one they’ll have no issue tendering as a long-term agreement is likely to run past the $7MM mark.
More from around the hockey world:
- Still with Vancouver, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggested in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that the Canucks might consider buying out Ilya Mikheyev this offseason. The 29-year-old wound up with a respectable 11 goals and 20 assists in 78 games this season but his production cratered as the year went on as he managed just a single tally and nine helpers in his final 45 regular season and was held off the scoresheet altogether in 11 playoff contests. Mikheyev has two years left on his deal that carries a $4.75MM AAV; a buyout would carry a cap charge of $1.15MM next season, $2.15MM in 2025-26, and $1.55MM for two more years after that.
- A pair of young NHL players were traded recently in the KHL. CSKA announced that they traded the rights to Blues prospect Mikhail Abramov in exchange for Flames blueliner Nikita Okhotyuk. Abramov picked up 14 goals and 22 assists in 59 games with AHL Springfield this season and has yet to play at the NHL level. Okhotyuk, meanwhile, spent most of the season in San Jose before being acquired late in the season by Calgary; he notched nine points, 80 blocks, and 147 hits in 52 NHL games. Both players are set to become restricted free agents in July.
Buyouts are not smart business imo. Still waiting for the first GM to say “without that buyout a few yrs ago we never would’ve won this Cup.” Can someone point me to the time it worked spectacularly?
OEL’s buyout might get the Panthers a cup this year!
Maybe, but I’m talking about the team that does the buyout. Every dollar matters when trying to fill out a competitive nhl roster. The buyout charges don’t seem worth it.
You could argue Vinny Lecavlier being bought out by Tampa in 2013 got them a couple Cups down the road. Granted that was one of the compliance/let GM’s out of jail free/no penalty buyouts
Butterfly effect. With Vinny: do they get to finals in ’15? Get swept by CBJ in ’19? Can they keep everyone for as long as they did/have? Does Stamkos become Captain? Does _____ get PP time for those years? Does Cooper have the same effect? etc.
Good points, but like you pointed out it was the compliance/no penalty buyout. It absolutely helped TB down the road for sure.
Nothing about signing a bad contract screams intelligence. It’s an admitted mistake to help alleviate/navigate cap situations. The buyout hasn’t been around long enough to produce clear examples. I would argue that it has saved the careers of some GMs, or at least extended their stay at a franchise. This could potentially have resulted in a Cup. Cap manipulation in itself has allowed Vegas, and TB (among other teams) to ice a winning squad. So there’s that.
I see a Mikeyev buyout as team is still paying Poolman & OEL (the latter for many years); they can hope the winger fits better on the third line & occasional PK duties. Sometimes you have to live with those mistakes…