Red Wings trade Filip Hronek to Canucks for first-round pick: Is he worth the price?
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The Detroit Red Wings have traded defenseman Filip Hronek and a 2023 fourth-round pick to the Vancouver Canucks for a first-round pick and second-round pick in the 2023 draft, the teams announced. Here’s what you need to know:
The first-round pick the Red Wings acquired was originally the Islanders’. Vancouver acquired the pick from New York as part of the Bo Horvat.
The 25-year-old Hronek has 38 points in 60 games this season while averaging 21:32 of ice time per game. He will carry a cap hit of $4.4 million through next season.
The Red Wings (28-24-8) have lost three games in a row and are five points out of the last wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Canucks are 24-31-5 and have been sellers this trade deadline period.
How big of an upgrade is Hronek
Vancouver’s long been searching for a way to upgrade its blue line. Hronek instantly becomes the club’s second best defender, especially on the right side where they’ve been starving for help. The price is really steep and timing is questionable, however, for a Canucks team that isn’t close to contending and should probably instead be rebuilding.
Why did the Red Wings trade Hronek?
We have yet to hear from general manager Steve Yzerman, but the most logical answer would have something to do with Hronek’s breakout year and it’s timing with relation to his contract. Hronek has exploded for nine goals and 38 points in 60 games this season, with one year remaining on his current contract at a $4.4 million AAV. That production will give him grounds for a substantial raise.
If the Red Wings did not want to be the ones to pay that raise, then moving him now makes sense, especially for a return that includes both a first and second round pick. The first-rounder is the same pick Vancouver got from the Islanders in the Horvat trade, and is top-12 protected, but there is now potential for Detroit to have two picks in the top 20 of this draft.
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