Bruins accidentally reveal possible Hronek trade proposal with Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks traded away one of their many Petterssons this summer when they sent Marcus Pettersson to the New York Rangers.
They may have been in talks to acquire another Pettersson while moving Filip Hronek.
The Boston Bruins documentary series, Behind the B, came out with its latest episode on Wednesday. Halfway through the video, the documentary crew joins general manager Don Sweeney and his staff for the start of NHL free agency.
At one point, the cameras catch a glimpse of the screen behind Sweeney that reveals perhaps more of their offseason plans than intended.
Despite being blurry and out of focus, it was clear enough for an eagle-eyed fan on the r/Canucks subreddit to spot a potential trade for Filip Hronek on the board.
Boston Bruins/YouTube
If that’s hard to make out, that’s entirely fair.
After shouting, “Enhance!” at the screen a few times, it becomes a bit clearer.
Boston Bruins/YouTube
It’s still a little fuzzy, but that’s a potential trade that would send Filip Hronek to the Bruins for prospect defenceman Liam Pettersson and two first-round picks, one in 2027 and one in 2028.
Aiming for Hronek would make sense for the Bruins, who needed a right-handed defenceman. They tried and failed to acquire Rasmus Andersson from the Calgary Flames at the trade deadline, then moved two draft picks to get Will Borgen from the New York Rangers on July 1.
What’s unclear, aside from the screenshot, is whether this was a trade the Bruins offered the Canucks, one that the Canucks offered the Bruins, or if it was just pie-in-the-sky brainstorming that didn’t lead to any real discussions between the two teams.
It should be noted that a couple of the moves on the board did, in fact, happen.
Below the prospective Hronek trade is another trade: Joonas Korpisalo to the Rangers for Kalle Vaisanen and a fourth-round pick in the 2028 draft. That trade happened.
And beneath that trade is a signing: Connor Clifton for two years at $2.5 million per year. The Bruins did sign Clifton, albeit for two years at $2.25 million per year.
That suggests that these were real plans or talks that were actually taking place. It seems like the Bruins were truly considering trading Liam Pettersson and two first-round picks for Filip Hronek.
While Liam Pettersson is not one of the Bruins’ top prospects, the 19-year-old Swede has some upside with his raw talent, excellent skating, and room to grow into his 6’2″ frame.
Also, he’s a Pettersson, and the Canucks love to acquire Petterssons.
Still, the key pieces of the return would be the two first-round picks, which would be a boon to the Canucks’ rebuilding efforts.
Hronek has made it clear that he wants to stay in Vancouver, and the Canucks seem happy to keep the veteran defenceman as part of the leadership group for their rebuild.
“I committed here,” said Hronek ahead of this year’s training camp. “I just don’t want to run away right away. I think we can build something special here and that’s the goal.”
Hronek has a full no-movement clause in his contract through 2028, which then becomes a modified no-trade clause that allows him to provide a 15-team no-trade list. So, even if there were trade talks between the Canucks and Bruins — and there’s no actual proof of that — Hronek could have vetoed any potential trade.
At this point, it’s just an intriguing what-if.