The Vancouver Canucks may have lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4 in Pittsburgh on Wednesday night, but if circumstantial evidence is worth anything, the Canucks may have lost more than that. Top defenseman Filip Hronek, who notably plays alongside Quinn Hughes on the top defense pairing, left Wednesday night's game with an apparent shoulder injury.
In the clip below, Hronek tries to and successfully plays the puck along the wall with Arturs Silovs pulled for the extra attacker late in the third period. Penguins defenseman Jack St. Ivany collides with Hronek whilst trying to seal him off, sending the Canucks rearguard shoulder-first into the boards. Hronek immediately reached for his shoulder before even hitting the surface of the ice, which is not an encouraging sign.
Looks like Filip Hronek might’ve hurt himself bad here after getting bumped into the boards. Let the ice hunched over favouring his arm/shoulder. #Canucks pic.twitter.com/MGd2Tu9mFd
— Grady Sas (@GradySas) November 28, 2024
How long could Canucks lose Filip Hronek for?
Dr. Harjas Grewal, who is known for his online presence and informative explanations of injuries around the NHL, weighed in on the above video of Hronek after the game. Unfortunately for the Canucks and fans, Grewal's initial assessment of the injury is not exactly inspiring.
Mechanism is either separated shoulder or broken collarbone yeah. Hard to know if he’s actually hurt since it was so late in the game. Probably won’t know if Hronek is injured until the next game
— Dr. Harjas Grewal (@Harjas_Grewal) November 28, 2024
"Mechanism is either separated shoulder or broken collarbone yeah. Hard to know if he’s actually hurt since it was so late in the game. Probably won’t know if Hronek is injured until the next game," Grewal posted to his X account.
"Collarbone at least 8 weeks and usually more than 12," Grewal added. "Separated shoulder depends on the type. Sometimes just day-to-day and sometimes week-to-week, very rarely longer."
Collarbone at least 8 weeks and usually more than 12
— Dr. Harjas Grewal (@Harjas_Grewal) November 28, 2024
Separated shoulder depends on the type. Sometimes just day-to-day and sometimes week to week, very rarely longer
The Canucks are already without veteran defenseman Derek Forbort, and if Hronek is out with an injury now, it will mean the Canucks have only six healthy defensemen left on the roster. With only $740k in current cap space, calling up a replacement will prove to be difficult. The Canucks could send down Max Sasson or Arshdeep Bains to create the necessary cap space, but they would then be down to only 12 healthy forwards with J.T. Miller on a leave of absence.
If Filip Hronek is truly injured, it will be another stake driven through the heart of the Vancouver Canucks.