Sportsnet’s Luke Fox examines the respective contract situations of 10 restricted free agents this morning, and Red Wings RFA Filip Hronek, who did not have arbitration rights, ranks highly on his list:
7. Filip Hronek
Age: 23
Position: Defence
2020-21 salary cap hit: $714,166
Arbitration rights: NoBargaining chips: 2017 Calder Cup champ. 2019 Red Wings rookie of the year. Team Czech staple who won Best Defenceman at 2019 worlds. Puck-moving, right-shot defenceman yet to reach his ceiling. Led team in points (26) and assists (24) this season. Logs 23:23 per game. Improved discipline and defensively during platform year.
The latest: Fantasy managers know: Hronek is that rare Red Wing worth hanging onto, even during the mighty franchise’s patient rebuild.
“A year from now, Filip Hronek’s up and we’ll extend his contract,” promised GM Steve Yzerman back in October, during an appearance on 97.1 The Ticket.
As recently as the 2021 trade deadline, when he dealt away Mantha, Yzerman highlighted Hronek as a core member of a roster he’s slowly building back to prominence.
Detroit is flush with cap space, so Hronek should surface this summer with more term than any of his teammates. Yzerman was prudent in managing his internal cap in Tampa, so the bar he sets with Hronek will be one worth watching.
Continued; I’d gather that Hronek will sign a bridge deal in the $3 million range, but that’s just an educated guess at this point.
Hronek did progress rather quickly with the Wings and across the pond. He is probably in the top two pairing and likely on the 1st PP Unit.
I like the way he plays, his risk taking is low, e has offense and good in the D Zone. He is still developing and fine tuning his game.
With the Wings, I can only see one other like Hronek and that is Seider. The others aren’t bad they will just take more time. Seider and Hronek has a good feel to it if they both play on the the 1st pairing. They might be split up on he PP which should help the PP to become a real PP. With a Rebuild , I will have to wait and see.. Having them play together may cause problems with the other pairings, for awhile.
I think Hronek’s going to get a payday of some sort ($3 million plus), and he’s earned his paycheck. He still needs to work on his one-timer on North American ice, because it was such a huge asset in the Czech Republic, but he’s definitely still developing as a defenseman and as an offensive force, and he would be intriguing to watch as Seider’s partner.