The curious case of Filip Chytil continued this season. Chytil has been penciled in as the 2C for a while now, with many hoping he would get a real look there this season. Naturally that never materialized, as the Strome/Panarin connection continued to succeed for the most part. Chytil was cemented as the 3C for most of the season, except when he was hurt (obviously) and when he spent a hot second as RW on that second line.
Chytil’s 8-14-22 line in 67 games this season, matching his output from last season in 25 fewer games, is a disappointment on paper. There are many reasons for this, and note reasons, not excuses. Chytil dealt with an upper body injury that landed him on IR, and it didn’t fully heal until after that long February break. After that break, Chytil put up 4-7-11 (half his points) in the final 29 games of the season.
There’s also the linemates concern, as Chytil didn’t really have consistent linemates all season. At 5v5, Chytil played 780 total minutes (464 with Igor Shesterkin, and 316 with Alex Georgiev). Of the forwards he played with:
- Alexis Lafreniere: 394 minutes
- Barclay Goodrow; 266 minutes
- Julien Gauthier: 247 minutes
- Dryden Hunt: 123 minutes
- Artemiy Panarin: 114 minutes
- Sammy Blais: 86 minutes
- Lafreniere-Chytil-Blais was relatively effective before Blais’ injury
- Kaapo Kakko: 63 minutes
The Rangers depth problem really impacted the bottom six, as it was mostly a rotation of RW skaters next to Laf and Chytil. The problem is that outside of Lafreniere, there weren’t many offensive inclined players playing with them. It wasn’t until the kid line was put together in the playoffs, where Kakko’s ability to actually score and set up plays helped replace Gauthier’s inability to do either, that Chytil and company really shined.
Chytil’s on-ice performance looks worse than it is, especially with the player card on the left. Scoring lines have a major impact on player cards at Evolving-Hockey, and Chytil’s 5.9% individual shooting rate and and a 6.61 on-ice SH% (at even strength).
So while Chytil was able to drive puck possession, the lack of scoring was a problem. We see that in the RAPM bar chart, where team goals while he was on the ice (GF/60) was far lower than his expected-goals for (xGF/60). That usually signals some poor shooting luck and lack of skill on the line. Both were a problem for Chytil this season. Not excuses, just diving deeper into the numbers.
Chytil is a curious case for the Rangers. He can drive play, has documented success with more skill players, and the playoffs were a whole new Chytil. But will more minutes translate to more production? Most prolific scorers benefit largely from powerplay time, which likely won’t happen for Chytil as long as PP1 dominates 80% of the ice time with the man advantage.
But that’s for next season. This season, Chytil was a play driver that didn’t necessarily match up on the points. In all fairness, you can make a case that the difficult part is already done for Chytil – he is sound in all three zones and is sticking as a center. The goals and points will come, but didn’t this year. But as a 3C, his role was tertiary scoring, which he provided.
Grade: C+/B-
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