Former Rangers center unlikely to play this season after concussion: ‘Odds are against it’

It appears that former New York Rangers center Filip Chytil will not play again this season because of his latest concussion.

Speaking with reporters Tuesday, Vancouver Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said that Chytil is having “good days and bad days” so the organization doesn’t want to put him in harm’s way and is erring on the side of caution.

“He’ll go out and skate, feel good, next day, not as good, so, to be honest, does he play this year? Maybe. The odds are against it, plus you don’t want to put a guy in that type of position,” Tocchet told reporters. “When a guy has good days and bad days, obviously, you’re not going to play the guy.”

Chytil sustained a concussion when checked from behind by Chicago Blackhawks forward Jason Dickinson late in the third period of a 6-2 Canucks win at home on March 15. The 25-year-old hasn’t practiced with the Canucks since, much less played in a game. The Canucks are 3-3-2 in his absence.

His history of head injuries during eight seasons with the Rangers is well chronicled, and troublesome when considering his latest concussion. Chytil missed the final 72 regular-season games a year ago because of a concussion. His original comeback was short-circuited in January, when he sustained a setback, believed to be another concussion or head injury.

Tocchet was asked if he believes Chytil’s career is in jeopardy and tried to sound positive.

“I don’t know,” the coach replied. “I talked to him today, and he says it was different than his last concussion; the bad days aren’t as bad, so that’s a positive. I think we’ve got to take the positive approach; plus, he’s got four or five months to rehabilitate himself.”

Former Rangers center Filip Chytil could miss rest of season with concussion

Chytil has six points (two goals, four assists) and is minus-11 in 15 games with the Canucks after he was traded to them by the Rangers in the J.T. Miller acquisition on Jan. 31. He didn’t have a point in six games before the injury.

In 41 games with the Rangers this season, Chytil scored 11 goals and had 20 points, averaging 14:20 TOI. He averaged two minutes more of ice time with the Canucks, but his production was down since being acquired from the Rangers.

Like the Rangers, the Canucks (34-27-13) are on the outside looking in at the Stanley Cup Playoffs entering the final month of the regular season. Vancouver is 10th in the Western Conference, six points behind the red-hot St. Louis Blues for the second wild card, with one game in hand. The Canucks have eight games remaining on their schedule.

The Rangers (35-32-7) also have eight games to play, but are in a better spot in the Eastern Conference race for the second wild card. They are tied in points with the Montreal Canadiens, but Montreal is the second wild card having played one fewer game than New York.

Along with Chytil, the Canucks recently have been without injured forwards Elias Pettersson and Nils Hoglander, each of whom was hurt in a 5-3 loss to the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on March 22. They also played without No. 1 goalie Thatcher Demko for most of the season due to knee issues and, star defenseman Quinn Hughes missed time as well.

Before he was traded to the Rangers, Miller missed 10 games with the Canucks due to a personal leave of absence.

Chytil arrived in Rangers training camp healthy and in great spirits, and had a very strong start to the season centering their third line. But the only player still with the Rangers from that line is Will Cuylle, who’s fourth on the team with 18 goals. Kaapo Kakko was traded to the Seattle Kraken for defenseman Will Borgen in December, and Chytil was shipped to Vancouver in late January.

If his season is over, Chytil will have finished with 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) in 56 games split between the Rangers and Canucks. As surprising as it may sound, that would be the second highest points total in his career, short of the 45 points (22 goals, 23 assists) he had in what was considered his breakout season in 2022-23.