Vancouver Canucks defenseman notified as leading candidate to be next team captain




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Feb 2, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Vancouver Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek (17) moves the puck against the Utah Mammoth during the second period at Delta Center.

Photo credit: Rob Gray – Imagn Images.

A Vancouver Canucks defenseman has emerged as a leading candidate to take over the vacant captaincy role after the team traded Quinn Hughes to Minnesota in December.

The Vancouver Canucks shocked the hockey world before Christmas as Patrik Allvin traded captain Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild for a package that included three young players – Marco Rossi, Zeev Buium and Liam Ohgren – along with a 2026 first round pick.

By trading Quinn Hughes, the Vancouver Canucks were left without a captain for the first time since January to October of 2023 following Bo Horvat’s departure to the New York Islanders.

There’s no question that head coach Adam Foote has plenty of solid choices for whenever he decides to name his next captain, but only one can wear the ‘C’ on their chest and it looks like a leading candidate has already emerged.

Vancouver Canucks blueliner emerges as leading candidate to be team’s next captain

“He’s grown a lot, and he’ll continue to grow. I know he was good friends with J.T. Miller, and (that trade) hurt him, too. We all have buddies in the game. The longer you play, the more you realize guys come and go. That happens in hockey. I just think that Fil had to grow. I thought Fil could get to this point, but probably not this quick. I thought it would take longer. But his leadership, I think he’s ready to take another step there.” Foote said about Filip Hronek to Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre.

Despite his seeing his name circulating in trade rumors in recent months, Filip Hronek isn’t going anywhere anytime soon and with the team indicating that they’re in a rebuild, they need a leader and there’s no question that Hronek is ready to step up and take on that responsibility by wearing the ‘C’ for the Canucks.

While it’s unlikely that Foote and his staff will name Hronek or anyone as captain for the remainder of this season, look for the club to do so at training camp or just before opening night this fall.

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Vancouver Canucks defenseman notified as leading candidate to be next team captain

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