Rangers roster moves: Filip Chytil to LTIR with Kaapo Kakko.

As the NY Rangers head into the bye week and All Star break, we get to take a step back and truly evaluate where the Rangers are, what they need, and how we got here. One of the primary reasons the Rangers have been able to put together a strong December and January was Filip Chytil, who has emerged as the Rangers true 2C. As his 5th season progresses, it’s clear the Rangers re-signing Filip Chytil has become a priority this summer.

Through 41 games this season, Chytil has already eclipsed his career highs in goals and points, and is one assist shy of tying his career high there. His 16-13-29 line, with almost zero powerplay time, puts him third on the team in goals and fifth on the team in points. His 8 goals in January led the Rangers.

His offensive and defensive impacts, while not stellar, are still net-positive as well. The Rangers are generating more offensively with him on the ice, while he is above average defensively as well. All this, again, is without any significant special teams play of note this season, per Hockeyviz and Evolving-Hockey.

It’s not always fair to compare players, even on the same team, as role and linemates matter. But Chytil will always be compared to Vincent Trocheck, as many believed Chytil should have been the 2C to start the season. Trocheck’s 14-20-34 in 49 games is just not on the same level offensively as Chytil. Trocheck is a nice player and a solid 3C, but Chytil has the higher offensive talent and ceiling, and is showing it this season.

Chytil missed 8 games with an injury in October/November, and his absence was certainly felt. Without him, Trocheck and Barclay Goodrow are the middle-six centers on the Rangers, and the offensive talent takes a significant hit. In terms of unsung heroes, Chytil is certainly up there.

Rangers re-signing Filip Chytil is a must

The Rangers re-signing Filip Chytil has gone from “probably should” to “no-brainer” over half a season. It’s clear to anyone watching that he is a critical piece to the Rangers, both now and in the future. Assuming he remains with the Rangers long term, there is a solid chance he supplants Mika Zibanejad as the team’s 1C before the latter’s contract is up.

However when it comes to re-signing Chytil, complications are abundant. Salary cap issues, cap ceiling, and front office priority are always a problem, given K’Andre Miller and Alexis Lafreniere need new contracts as well.

Chytil, though, has a unique situation where he will hit 7 years of service two seasons from now, which makes him an unrestricted free agent before his 27th birthday. A two-year bridge deal with Chytil walks him right to free agency at just 25 years old. Imagine a 25 year old top six center putting up 0.75 points per game at even strength hitting the market? Chytil will get the bag by a very smart team.

For the Rangers, that means the bridge deal is likely off the table. It’s a one year deal via arbitration or a longer deal. It’s difficult to project what a long term deal for Chytil looks like, but if I’m him, knowing what Vincent Trocheck got, I’m looking in that same range. He may not get it, given two years would still be “under Rangers control,” but it might come close to it.

The more UFA years the Rangers buy, the more expensive he becomes.

Unique situations call for unique strategies?

We all lament the current cap situation. We point to the Trocheck contract, Goodrow contract, and Jacob Trouba contract as cap killers for their roles. Regardless of what your personal evaluation of that trio is, to say their contracts are a concern would be an understatement. And keep in mind, we’ve been adamant about how useful they are in the locker room and on the ice in the correct roles.

That said, Covid created a unique cap situation for all teams. The news that the cap would remain flat again this summer, the fourth straight year of mostly flat caps, has put many teams in precarious situations.

Thus, the Rangers re-signing Filip Chytil needs to take a different approach.

For those who were around in 2007, you may remember Henrik Lundqvist re-signing on a one-year deal with a $4.25 million cap hit. The Blueshirts were in a similar cap situation, and couldn’t give Lundqvist a long term deal at a fair dollar amount over the summer. Seven months later, in February 2008, the Rangers inked Lundqvist to a six year deal and a cap hit $2.5 million higher.

The same approach can be used with the Rangers re-signing Filip Chytil, assuming Chytil both wants to stay and agrees to it. They can sign him for a one year deal at a lower cap hit, then re-sign him after January 1, 2024, when they have more room due to an expected big increase in the cap ceiling.

This is an approach that can also be used for K’Andre Miller, for what it’s worth, but Chytil has the more precarious free agency situation.

Re-signing Filip Chytil has quickly become a priority for the Rangers as they realize what they have in him and what his best role should be.

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