TARRYTOWN, N.Y. — The New York Rangers prepped for their longest road trip of the season on Saturday, a four-gamer through Seattle and western Canada. They’re starting it without Filip Chytil, who will remain in New York to undergo further evaluation after he departed early from Thursday’s win over the Sharks. A league source said Chytil could join the team later next week.
The team is calling it an upper-body injury for the time being, though it seemed clear what Chytil might be dealing with after a big collision with teammate K’Andre Miller in the second period on Thursday. Chytil missed 72 regular-season games and all but six playoff games last year with a concussion, suffered in a similar-looking collision with the Hurricanes’ Jesper Fast on Nov. 2, 2023. Chytil also had a relapse of symptoms after a spill during an optional practice on Jan. 26, which seemingly ended his 2023-24 season.
He went home to Czechia and felt well enough to rejoin the Rangers as the postseason began, returning for Game 3 of the second round against the Hurricanes. His joy at being able to play, to be hit and throw hits, was evident after that 3-2 overtime win gave the Rangers a 3-0 series lead.
“It was amazing,” Chytil said back in May. “It felt so good. I never felt better that somebody hit me or that I hit anybody. I even got a stick to the face once, and I was, ‘Yeah, give me more.’ It gave me the adrenaline that I missed in the last six months.”
He felt equally enthusiastic about his return for this season after that long layoff. And it showed in a strong training camp and start to the season, with Chytil leading Rangers centers with four goals entering Thursday’s game. His line with Will Cuylle and Kaapo Kakko has been the team’s best so far, with an 11-0 edge in goals while on the ice this season.
Now there’s uncertainty once again. Jonny Brodzinski looks to be the Ranger who will get a shot at centering the third line, as he did in Saturday’s practice. Brodzinski played 57 games last season, most of them in Chytil’s 3C spot, and the 31-year-old journeyman has the offensive skills and speed to be the best fit for Cuylle and Kakko in the short term.
“When he’s come in, he’s given us good minutes,” Peter Laviolette said on Saturday.
But as he had to do early last season, GM Chris Drury is surely compiling a list of centers who could be trade targets as the season goes on toward the March 7 trade deadline. Last year’s Rangers got by largely due to the instant chemistry between Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafrenière after Chytil went down — Chytil had been centering Panarin and Lafrenière through the first 10 games — and the bottom six was a jumbled mess for the most part until Drury acquired Alex Wennberg for a 2024 second-round pick and a 2025 fourth-rounder.
The good news so far this season is that the Rangers’ bottom six has arguably been more stable and productive than the top six at five-on-five, with free-agent addition Sam Carrick providing some real consistency between Adam Edström and Jimmy Vesey on the fourth line. If Brodzinski can jump in seamlessly with Cuylle and Kakko, who are playing very well, then that might make Drury a bit more patient on the trade front.
The bad news so far this season, though, is that Trocheck and Mika Zibanejad have yet to round into form. They both scored goals on Thursday and both have been getting their usual bulk of the center minutes — Chytil was averaging just 13:40 a game so far, well off Trocheck’s 21:49 and Zibanejad’s 18:14 — so if those two can play at a higher level than they have, the Rangers should be fine.
If Chytil is out longer term, though, there most likely would be a need to fill out this Stanley Cup-contending team with better talent.
So in the “it’s never too early to make a plan” department, here are six centers to keep an eye on as this season unfolds.
Ryan Donato, Blackhawks: The 28-year-old leads the woeful Blackhawks with eight goals in 15 games and the contract, just a $2 million AAV, fits nicely without too much fuss for Drury and the Rangers cap situation. In years past the Rangers have been looking for fourth-line centers or, in Wennberg’s case, a good-skating, defense-first style center. With what the Rangers have needed from Chytil’s line so far, they might be aiming for a bit more skill — and that might cost more in a trade. Donato wouldn’t break the bank, but he’s producing at a high enough level to earn more than just a mid-round pick and the Rangers do not have a second- or fourth-round pick for the next three drafts and no third-rounder this coming draft.
Nick Bjugstad, Utah: The big, rangy, veteran center has been rejuvenated the past few years in the Arizona/Utah organization. Bjugstad, whose price ($2.1 million AAV) is also right if the Rangers want to have some room to make other moves, maybe doesn’t have the speed the Rangers would want in this spot, but the trade cost wouldn’t be very high.
Mikael Granlund, Sharks: Chytil’s $4.438 million cap hit would have to go on long-term injured reserve to make room for Granlund and the others listed below. Granlund has the sort of all-around game that would fit what the Rangers need and he leads the Sharks forwards in time on ice. He can also still produce, at 18 points for San Jose this season and 60 for the terrible 2023-24 Sharks. And we know Drury and Sharks GM Mike Grier get along.
Yanni Gourde, Kraken: An original Kraken, Gourde still has some wheels and offensive ability despite a poor start to this season. He’s also got the championship pedigree that Drury liked so much in Barclay Goodrow.
Gustav Nyquist, Predators: He’s 35 and there are some miles on him, but Nyquist has had his most productive stretch with Nashville since he got there last season. And the Preds’ struggles early with their expensive new roster might mean GM Barry Trotz is ready to shake things up.
Claude Giroux, Senators: The longest shot on this list given the Senators desperately need a playoff push and Giroux has seemed quite content to be close to home in Ottawa. But the Rangers did try to get Giroux to waive his no-move clause at the 2021-22 deadline before he approved a trade from the Flyers to the Panthers, so maybe Drury wants to try again if nothing else pans out.
The simplest path for the Rangers is that Chytil’s symptoms are not bad this time around and he can return soon. But if this is another concussion it’s the fifth one that we know about for a player who turned 25 two months ago and concussion symptoms are normally cumulative, meaning the more concussions you get the slower your brain returns to normal. So there is concern for Chytil’s future even without a long-term diagnosis and concern for what the Rangers can do without arguably their best center so far this season.
(Top photo: Marc DesRosiers / Imagn Images)
