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Rangers rule Filip Chytil out for season after setback in recovery from suspected concussion
When it came to Filip Chytil, the Rangers had to make decisions based on the quality of life of the person rather than the team’s need for the player.
That’s why the club formally announced Sunday afternoon that Chytil would miss the remainder of the season just two days after the Czech center suffered a setback in his recovery from a suspected concussion.
“Following a thorough evaluation of Filip Chytil after his recent setback from an upper body injury, it has been confirmed he will be out for the remainder of this season,” the team said in a statement. “The organization’s top priority throughout this process has been Filip’s health and we will continue to fully support him in his recovery with an aim to return for the 2024-25 season.”
After spending roughly three weeks in his home country of Czechia, where he worked with Jaromir Jagr with clear intentions of returning this season, Chytil returned to New York early last week.
He rejoined the Rangers on the ice for practice in a red non-contact jersey, which prompted head coach Peter Laviolette to reveal the team’s plan of ramping up his activities.
During his second day on the ice with the extras at morning skate, however, Chytil fell and needed assistance to the locker room.
“It has been the hardest three months of my life and has not been easy for my family, closest people and of course for [the] whole NY Rangers organization,” Chytil wrote in a post on Instagram. “But we gotta stay positive even in these tough moments and just think What is ahead of us! Thanks to you all for nice messages! I’ll come back stronger than ever!”
At 24 years old, this is believed to be the fourth documented concussion of Chytil’s seven-year NHL career.
The more concussions a person sustains, the more serious the side effects become. The long-term impact can also become more severe.
This quickly became a situation in which the Rangers and Chytil needed to prioritize the human being wearing the jersey.
Chytil has struggled to stay healthy since the Rangers drafted him 21st overall in 2017. He has never skated a full 82-game season.
Having been sidelined 10 different times in-season since 2018-19, Chytil also missed two weeks of training camp with an unidentified upper-body injury at the beginning of this season.
The injuries always seem to crop up at the worst times, too.
He opened this season centering the Rangers’ second line between Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere. He posted six assists through his first nine games before he collided with ex-teammate Jesper Fast in the first period of a game on Nov. 2.
Despite taking eight more shifts before heading to the locker room that night, Chytil missed 10 games before the Rangers placed him on long-term injured reserve, retroactive to Nov. 3.
“He’s been a good player for us,” Laviolette said last week. “He’s a guy that we count on in a lot of different situations.”
Chris Drury presumably has had a Plan A (with Chytil) and a Plan B (without Chytil) whenever the Rangers president and general manager thinks about the March 8 trade deadline.
The fact that both sides were able to come to a conclusion before the All-Star break certainly gives the Rangers clarity on what they need to accomplish in the next 5 ¹/₂ weeks.
After waiving Nick Bonino and losing Chytil, the Rangers will need to acquire a center or two.
As of Sunday, the Rangers will have approximately $5,237,500 in cap space by the deadline, according to CapFriendly. This does give Drury some more flexibility and options that may not have been there if he had to worry about creating space to activate Chytil.
The clarity is good for the Rangers. This decision was what was best for Chytil. That’s all that matters.