They were one of the best defence pairings in the NHL last season but they started the Vancouver Canucks' training camp in entirely different groups.
Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek were dominant together in their first full season as a pairing, with Hughes crediting Hronek for giving him more chances to create offence. It's a big reason why he led all NHL defencemen in scoring with 92 points and took home the Norris Trophy as the league's best defenceman.
"Having a defensive partner like Filip Hronek also gets me the puck more and gives me two or three more chances and good looks per game," said Hughes. "Having a partner like him gives me more touches and more opportunities to make a play."
Despite the duo's dominance together, however, the Canucks have openly wondered if they might be able to get more out of Hronek if he was separated from Hughes and had to carry his own pairing.
"I think they played well together — two good puck-moving guys,” said general manager Patrik Allvin at the end of last season. “I think there’s part of their games I liked together, but I also think they’re capable of having their own pair. I think you can get more out of Hronek offensively. I think he maybe played a little more cautiously, backing [Hughes] up and giving him the puck.”
So, perhaps it wasn't too surprising that the Canucks entered camp with Hughes and Hronek on separate pairings, trying them out with different defence partners. Hughes skated with Noah Juulsen, who he's played with in the past, while Hronek helped prospect defenceman Elias Nils Pettersson get acclimated.
The upside of splitting up Hughes and Hronek is that it would spread their two best puck-moving, offensive defenceman across two pairings instead of stacking them on one. In theory, it would give the Canucks a more balanced top-four on the back end. But will the Canucks actually start the season with Hughes and Hronek on separate pairings?
If Hughes has his way, no.
"I'm always under the assumption that you don't fix what's not broken," said Hughes in an interview on Sportsnet 650. "Me and Fil were great last year — we were plus-40, the team was a goal away from going to the Conference Final. I haven't really talked to anyone about it.
"I love playing with Fil. I can play with Juulsen or [Tyler] Myers or whatnot — we've got a lot of good players to play with — but I fit best with Fil. You've seen that, the proof's in the pudding."
It's pretty understandable that Hughes would not be eager to go back to playing with partners similar to those he used to play with before Hronek — stay-at-home types like Luke Schenn and Travis Hamonic, who have their positive traits but aren't particularly adept at creating scoring chances. Of course Hughes wants to play with the second-best defenceman on the Canucks. Why wouldn't he?
The opinion of Hughes, who is arguably the Canucks' most important player beyond Thatcher Demko or any of the forwards, should carry a lot of weight and it seems likely he'll get what he wants. Of course, the coaching staff was likely to put them back together before too long anyway.
"I like seeing that, putting guys with different guys," said head coach Rick Tocchet after the first practice. "We know Huggy and Fil are really good together. It's just the first day, I just want to see a couple of guys with the veterans."
So yes, Hughes and Hronek should be back together before too long.
