Filip Chytil’s Vancouver Canucks career has spanned a short – but eventful – 15 games. That’s what happens when you’re the key piece in a team-altering trade that sent JT Miller back to the New York Rangers.
The Czech centre started the 2024-25 season as a Ranger, playing 41 games on Broadway and scoring 20 points. But with the Rangers caught in a death spiral a year after winning the President’s Trophy, Chytil became a casualty and a Canuck in one fell swoop.
The early expectation was for the former 2017 first-round pick to settle into a vacated centre role left by Miller. Chytil’s talents were on display from his very first game with the Canucks, when he fended off a Red Wings defender and found a hole under Alex Lyon’s blocker for a game tying goal. The energy of his celebration seemed to represent a positive step forward for the Canucks and a return to competitiveness.
Rick Tocchet’s team had spent most of the season playing a methodical, slow-paced brand of defensive hockey. When Chytil arrived, Tocchet didn’t immediately hold him to that same expectation, and the early returns were a breath of fresh air. Chytil’s speed and skill with the puck gave the Canucks some extra juice offensively, creating additional scoring chances that weren’t there in the first two-thirds of the campaign.
Vancouver’s overall struggles didn’t help put more of those pucks in the net; Chytil ended up with only six points (two goals and four assists) with a minus-8 rating, averaging 16:42 of ice time through in 15 games, but the seeds of success were there. According to Natural Stat Trick, Chytil’s Expected Goals For percentage of 55.8% and Chances For percentage of 54.82% were both the highest marks among all Canuck forwards (small sample size noted).
Chytil’s skillset isn’t up for debate, but his long-term health is. When the 25-year-old was on the receiving end of a brutal hit from behind by Chicago’s Jason Dickinson, the ensuing concussion ended his season prematurely. It was also rumoured to be his fifth concussion in the last seven seasons, an amount that would make any person question their future in a contact sport.
Chytil’s health is a prime concern for a player halfway through a four-year contract worth $4.437 million AAV. In 2023-24, Chytil missed all but 10 games for the Rangers with his fourth concussion, and only played six more in that year’s playoffs.
On a serious contender, Chytil would probably slot in as a third line centre with power play opportunities. The Canucks need a bonafide second line centre behind Elias Pettersson, and if they don’t believe Chytil’s prognosis is strong enough, they’re inclined to go find that upgrade sooner than later.
When he’s available in the lineup, Chytil can be a solid difference maker offensively for Canucks team that desperately needs more of them. How frequently that will be the case moving forward is the great mystery.
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