The Vancouver Canucks may be dealing with a significant injury on the blue line with Filip Hronek, but it doesn’t look like they’re in any rush to make a deal.
For the next eight weeks, the Vancouver Canucks will be without top-pairing defenseman Hronek after he suffered an injury during last Wednesday’s game in Pittsburgh.
This has forced the Canucks’ management group to get a bit creative, including making a call-up from Abbotsford on Thursday, which will see Cole McWard in Vancouver.
Despite an injury to their second-best defenseman, it doesn’t appear that the Vancouver Canucks are in any rush to add to their blue line.
Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford said to Ben Kuzma of The Province recently that while they always look to see if there’s a move to upgrade the team, they’re hoping that someone on that blue line can step up with Hronek out for the next eight weeks.
“We’re always looking to see if there’s a change we can make to make us better. The work never stops — your roster can always be better.
“Now we get to watch to see if the other players can step up and play a few more minutes. The guys worked hard at it and played the right way and stuck together. That’s how you have to win. Now we have to carry that over to how we play at home.”
With Hronek out, the Vancouver Canucks’ defensive group will have big hole to fill and it’s going to be interesting to see who slots in next to Quinn Hughes until the Czech blue liner returns to game action.
For Friday and Sunday’s games against Buffalo and Detroit, respectively, Rick Tocchet put Tyler Myers with Quinn Hughes. However, for Tuesday’s game in Detroit, Noah Juulsen was given that role and didn’t look out of place.
We’ll likely know more at the next morning skate as to who will place with Hughes, but it wouldn’t be a shock to see Juulsen be given another go on the top pairing.
